It’s race weekend kids!!

Yes, I’m over playing the excitement a little as it has been sadly deflated by a gong show of technical difficulties I’ve experienced trying to follow along.

The new video player that IndyCar is using on the site to stream the sessions is apparently not compatible with my computer. So I get a stream that lasts, oh… about 4 seconds at a time if I’m lucky. God forbid a car actually appears on screen either, as that causes it to freeze up permanently, forcing me to refresh. Oh and the sound? ya when it does eventually appear, it sounds like the guys are gargling, then it shuts down again.

So, after updating everything. Shutting out of every other program on my computer (which is rather inconvenient) and refreshing about 70 times, I finally gave up. God only knows what happened during Indy Lights qualies this morning.

I eventually found a radio stream. Of course it didn’t work directly from the site either, but at least I was able to find the url source and paste it into one of my own players. :rolleyes:

so yay! I got to “listen” to qualies!

Can I just tell you? not so much fun. You are relying on someone else being your eyes, and if the booth is distracted in anyway or go off on a tangent about something, much of the details are lost.

While I’m bitching, cause hey why stop now, wtf is with them combining the times on the t&s for the first sessions? It’s so fucking confusing trying to figure out who is actually in the session & who is done. (and no, you can’t go by who is in the pits, because even the current session guys are shown pitting) Anyway… colour code them or something!

So, qualies are over (look for the recap on OOW.net) and Graham Rahal is in the catbird seat! Yay! Not surprised that N/H/L are figuring it out at all. Soon it will be the big “4″ not the big “3″ I’m sure.

What is surprising though is Justin Wilson and Dale Coyne Racing!!! P fricken 2!! (woulda been P1 had he not gotten jacked in traffic twice)
I can see him getting around Graham easily and not looking back.
Holy CRAP what a thing of beauty it would be to start the 2009 season off with Coyne getting his first victory. Tears would be flowing worldwide. (start filling the sandbags for the flooding)

Another big surprise, Dixon running out of talent in session 2! What?! Maybe he needs to begin sporting a Frollet like his teammate. Losen up a little. Of course his car was plenty loose today. Apparently. From what I HEAR.

I will attempt to watch/listen to the Lights race later. And hopefully some kind soul will be streaming the VERSUS highlight show somewhere.

No idea what I’m going to do about the race tomorrow now that watching on my computer is no longer an option thanks to the jacked up new format. (it wasn’t broke!! why fuck with it!?)

Not many sports bars around that will be open at 4am to watch it on TSN. (yes, that’s right, 4A.M)

I’m going to take a walk this afternoon to the bar down the street here to see if they get TSN2 (the alternate pay channel) which is going to air it live. Oh and then try to convince them to air it over whatever other sporting event is on in that timeslot. Otherwise again I will be relying on the kindness of strangers to stream it online somewhere.

I shouldn’t have to work this hard to watch the races.

F1 Australian GP *live blog* (sort of)

Well here it is kids… the start of the Formula 1 season. And I’m sitting here in the dark at 2am in the morning watching the race on my laptop. LOL! Something I’m going to have to get used to I guess. (both timing and facility wise)

Hmmm…. I must say, I miss Peter Windsor and his walk about. (don’t know if he’s still doing it on Speed… I am “relegated” (*snickers at Pat*) to the BBC feed this evening… er… morning.

As if on cue, my internet stream has cacked at approximately the same time the cars rolled off the grid. Nice. Running to the kitchen to see if the signal is better…

Completely missed the start. Will have to try and catch the replay on Sunday. grrr

Those front wings are ridonkulous!!! It’s like a pack of bulldozers racing each other! Fugly fugly fugly.

They (BBC crew) are referring to the super soft tyre stint (must spell it that way when talking about F1) as the “misery phase” LOL!

There is certainly very little interest or support for Seabass from the Brit tv crew. They quite enjoy giving the little digs as a matter of fact. But there is a big love-in going on for Button. From zero to hero in 24hrs.

I always forget how many fricken crew members come running out of the garage for these pit stops.

oopsie Nakajima, who, according the BBC crew  “is rather accident prone, has to be said” (LOL!  they aren’t shy about the put downs) is into the wall. Track is messy. Festival of pitting will ensue. Zoinks! Barrichello and Buemi almost got together in the pits, but pulled it off without incident.

Button in and out cleanly. Circus clown action in Fisi’s pits as he has a small stroke and forgets how to pull into his pits, nearly bowling over half of his crew.

Safety car gets deployed finally…. (was he napping? doing crosswords? waiting for the leader to come in and pit?)

Taking awhile for the field to all drive past it and make their way around the track so he can catch the leader. This is looking very disorganized. Drivers, teams, series, broadcasters, all shaking the rust off this weekend. Very clunky.

Lots of chit chat about who has KERS and who doesn’t for the restart.

curious.. is Massa trying to destroy his tires? I guess with the extendo yellow the tires… tyres are cooling rapidly. Ah, Button confirms that very thing over the radio.

Green! Green! Kitty litter! oopsie. Piquet totally bobbles. Wow, that car just snapped out from under him. No saving that. No yellow though, so that’s good.

wow, the BBC guys really have a bug up their ass towards Seabass! His teammate has him “looking a bit of a monkey” .  How do you really feel boys? (this has been a recurring theme the entire broadcast, just not as obvious as that slag)

It’s 3am… *yawn* I have my kitchen lit up like an interrogation room to stay awake. (I am also now painfully aware of how uncomfortable this chair is) (getting a proper internet connection is now at the top of my wish list for April)

Kubica is on a tear. He is like the gentle giant. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do this season.

interview and an incar radio stream at the same time… oops. More proof the BBC team have bugs of their own to work out…what I also find lacking from the BBC crew is the historic and technical quips that come so easily to the SPEED crew. I rather enjoy the dulcet tones of Bob Varsha with my racing experience…

Kubica in. Quick clean stop. nice.

I have to PEE!! but there are no commericals on the Brit feed! LOL! Good thing I have a laptop if it gets desperate… just sayin… (tmi?)

Are you fucking kidding me?! They just dropped the hammer on all of the F1 streams with 17 laps to go. Pricks. Oh well, pee break! LOL!

apparently, according to the chat which is still working, Kimi has hit the wall. Gah! this sucks. Off to twitter to follow the rest of the action.

OK… found a stream “elsewhere”, it’s in another language. (Hungarian I think) LOL! But hey, I can see what’s happening even if I have NO idea what they are talking about.

OH MY… that’s not how you get on the podium boys. Dang. Heartbreaking for both. Kubica and Vettel have a moment of oopsie, and destroy all their hard work in the blink of an eye. Messy.

LOL… the commentary is hilarious sounding. Again, no clue what’s going on! Damn that tire on Kubica’s car snapped off and right over his head. That’s not good. (don’t they have tethers?)

So, after all that, Rubens gets his original starting spot back! Nice job boys! And Trulli gets the third step after starting from pitlane! nice!
OK… must sleep. Or have breakfast… can’t decide if I’m more tired or more hungry at this point. I think tired is winning. More tomorrow.

In the light of day…

Ok… so I was so tired, I saved this as a draft instead of posting. bwhahaha!

By now y’all know what I know, that Trulli was docked 25 seconds after Lewis & team invoked the “he pass me under yellow” protest. Bottomline, you don’t pass a competitor whilst behind the safety car, no matter what excuse you have.

Oh and our young German phenom Vettel got docked 10 grid spots for his part in the final crash with Kubica. Apparently had he just kept his mouth shut, they would have shared the blame, but he got all truthful and remorseful and accepted blame. (good on ya Seb… shows strength of character) The team also got a $50,000 dollar slap upside the head for encouraging him to stay on track in his mangled and dangerous car.

So… on to Malaysia.

Will we see more KERS and more diffusers? I’m guessing yes. The usual top tier is probably hunkered down in their shops as we speak, still smarting from the smackdown they got this weekend. Although McLaren has said publicly that they expect to win in Spain. Spain?! that’s like 3 races from now. They best get competitive before that.

It will be interesting to see if the drivers start to use the KERS boosts defensively as well as offensively. (like P2P in Champ Car)

I never thought that I’d see the day when the Dallaras would look like a breath of fresh air following an F1 weekend. But damn, those cars…. blech.

Alright. Might try to catch the replay this afternoon and see what the SPEED boys had to say.

Silly season kicks into gear…

After a deafeningly silent winter break, the rumors, and now announcements are beginning to trickle in. It’s about bloody time!!

This morning KV Technology announced Mario Moraes. This barely had time to become a rumor, leaked by everyone’s favorite curmudgeon Robin Miller on Speed last night, and confirmed within 24hrs.

Sidenote: Why is it that when Dale Coyne drivers land/find/win/secure/whatever, sponsorship, they take the cheque and go to another team? Fuck, that pisses me off. “Uncle Dale” either gives them their first shot, or saves them from obscurity by rescuing them when they are tossed aside by everyone else, and yet never reaps the “pay it forward” or payback in return. If just one of them stayed with a big chunk of sponsorship, can you imagine the improvements that could be made to that team?? Look at how much they accomplish with what little resources they have!! Sad and frustrating.

Moving on…
Several sources are also confirming with 99% assurance that Robert Doornbos will be announced this week at N/H/L. Sticking a fork in J-Wil’s chances. Also big on the rumour mill, further whispers of N/H/L trying to secure funds to run their former 4-time champ Sebastien Bourdais, should the whinging Frenchman find himself rideless in the F1 paddock soon.

A couple of things come to mind in that scenario. 1) Does this mean N/H/L would run three cars or would Rahal find himself sidelined. 2) if Rahal is sidelined, does daddy pick him up and run him at RLR? 3) Why are they putting so much effort into securing funds for Seabass, but cut J-Wil loose with a “here’s your hat, don’t let the door smack you in the ass on the way out!” 4) Doornbos & Seabass as teammates??? BWAHAHAHAHA!

Rumours are also swirling that Penske has decided to cut bait and that a driver replacement will be announced this week. Top contenders for that ride Wilson & Hunter-Reay. Temperament & winning potential puts my money on Wilson.

I expect now that one driver has been shuffled and set, that the flood gates will open and the announcements and remaining driver shuffling will be fast and furious in the next 2 weeks.

So, where are we at: (confirmed, probable/possible, longshot)

A.J Foyt Racing: Meira
AGR: Kanaan, Andretti, Patrick, Mutoh
Conquest: Tagliani, Camara
Dale Coyne: Junquera, ?
Dryer & Reinbold: Rice, Duno, Bell
Ganassi: Dixon, Franchitti
HVM: Viso, Clarke, Doornbos, ?
KV: Moraes, Servia, Tracy?? (according to Vasser it’s a possibility!)
Luczo Dragon: Matos
N/H/L: Rahal, Wilson, Doornbos, Bourdais
PCM (Rubicon racing?): Dominguez, Papis
Panther: Wheldon
Penske: Briscoe, Castroneves, Power Wilson, Hunter-Reay, ????
RLR: Hunter-Reay (hell the whole team is a longshot at this point)
Roth: Nelson & Richard Phillipe
Sarah Fisher Racing: Fisher
Vision: Carpenter, Foyt IV
3G: Barrett
Walker: Tracy (again, the team is a longshot sadly)

Hang on to your hats kids! It’s about to get bumpy…

Hey 2008!…

there’s the door.
You’ve overstayed your welcome.
See ya!

Ok, so it wasn’t all bad in 2008… but it certainly wasn’t all good either. So, we’ll take what we saw, and learned, and felt, we’ll reflect on it, we’ll digest it, and we’ll move forward into the new year.

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.
-Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Ok so it’s not New Year’s Day yet, but I plan to have a bit of a healthy brain fog going tomorrow morning, so I thought I would put pen to paper pre-countdown. (er… digits to keys as the case may be). I like to think of the countdown as a count out actually. 2008 is bloodied and beaten and laying on the mat, and we the ref, are counting him out, urging him to just stay down, give up the fight, it’s OVER damnit!

My hopes for the new year? Survival. For all of us.
I’m going to aim low this year. Less disappointing that way.
No that is not a cop out, it’s just reality. 2008 was such an adrenaline rush of “what the fuck?!” right out of the gate that I was exhausted by the time it (the season) rolled to a stop finally. I had spent most of the year convincing everyone else that things were “good” and “fine” and to keep a positive outlook and “look on the bright side”, but in the end it was me who was left unconvinced and battle weary.

Personally, I thought I had made some great strides as far as furthering my career in the industry, but again, circumstance and lots of empty talk and promises leave me starting from scratch in 2009. meh. Shit happens right? Wiser for the experience.

Again, I’m aiming low. With the economic instability as it is, I’m not even entertaining the prospect of full-time employment with a team for this year. I will however be more resourceful in my job-hunting, diversifying my options and making sure that every experience is a learning experience and that I make the most of finding every opportunity. Putting all your eggs in one basket or depending on a single source is limiting and in some case debilitating, something drivers, teams and series have all discovered themselves. It’s not about the money really (though that would be nice) it’s about doing what I love to do, in a setting I love to be in. It’s about being happy. I wish to be happy and doing something I love in the new year. That’s not too much to ask for really. Again, I put it out there that if any of you know of anyone looking for a “girl friday” for their team, driver or organization, point them in my direction. I am open to internships and low-ball offers

Resolutions? I don’t make them really. Again, I think it sets you up for failure. I have goals and desires and plans however. One of those is that I would like to be more consistent and organized in my blogging/writing. I want be able to immerse myself in racing this year, without causing myself the usual financial fallout by year end. I want to be taken seriously. This isn’t a game, or a hobby, or a means of socializing at the track. I bust my ass doing what I do, both away from and at the track. I would like my efforts to reap a more substantial reward than “hey thanks for your help/research/opinion… I’ll call ya”. And if and when I get there, I would like to pay it forward and bring others of my ilk, with the same desires, along for the ride.

My new year’s wish is that come this time in 2009 we are all laughing and reflecting and wondering what the heck we had our panties all bunched up about in January. (and y’all know there are some panty bunching moments coming up right?)

I thank you all for your readership & participation this year. I looked at my stats this morning and was floored by the number compared to the start of the year. That my little soap box in cyberspace has garnered such a following is surprising and humbling all at once.

*sidenote: someone googled “meesh mean” to land at this blog this week, which I found quite hysterical. I assure you, I’m not mean, once you get to know me… if I like you that is… hehehe*

I specifically want to thank all of my fellow keyboard jockeys for your support and linkage and wealth of knowledge. (specifically Tony, Bill & Jeff, in no particular order) You guys continue to set the bar high, forcing me to continue to up my game and hone my skillz daily.

My own personal “transition” from Champ Car to IndyCar was made easier by your acceptance of my naivety, sometimes clouded perception, and “chrome horn” style of expressing myself. This was the one place I felt completely true to myself and just accepted for who I am and appreciated for what I had to offer, as uncensored and brash as I may be at times. (oh and for those who still haven’t figured it out, I’m a broad! LOL! You can only imagine how humorous I found the shocked expressions throughout the season when introduced)

I’m proud and honoured to call many of you friend, and if I had to make one resolution for 09, it would be to make the effort to meet up with as many of you as possible at the track for a frosty beverage and animated conversation!

For those of you venturing out tonight, have fun but be safe and be smart. (especially all you drivers… DON’T give me something lascivious to add to my “Watercooler Wednesday” article next week, particularly in the police blotter section)

Fare thee well 2008!
Bring it on 2009!
Drop the fucking flag and lets get back to racing already!!

Cheers!
Meesh

well now… that’s gonna leave a mark…

The “WTF were they thinking??” continues in motorsports today with the the lovely announcement that F1, in it’s infinite wisdom, has renaged on the earlier released schedule , and now dropped Canada from the 2009 schedule.

wow. just wow.

Can you say IndyCar to Montreal for 2010?

Legualt isn’t gonna let his track sit empty all summer, that’s for sure, and the Montreal race fans aren’t going to be happy settling for nothing but cabs. Of course he’ll have to plunk down some serious cash and resurface that embarrassing mess of a track. (likely a big factor in the decision to drop the track in the first place)