Jimmie Johnson became a four time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion in 2009. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
The Top Ten motor racing stories in 2009, according to one man’s opinion.
1. Jimmie Johnson Wins Four Straight – This is the story of the decade. It only changes when Johnson wins a fifth Sprint Cup next year. (You heard it here first.)
2. BMW, Toyota, Renault Head For Exits – A Titanic story, one might say. On the heels of Honda’s pullout from Formula One last year, these companies made stunning decisions to abandon ship. Renault stays, yes, but under new ownership. One F1 era ends, another one begins… .
3. Mark Martin Gets Five At Five-0 – Martin trailerized Jeff Gordon, among other accomplishments, with five victories for the Hendrick team. Unlike the Johnson saga, this story had legs outside of NASCAR, because it helped convince a lot of males that 50 is the new 40. If everybody worked out as arduously as Martin, perhaps that would be true.
4. Tony George Fired By IMS Board – Not exactly like Churchill getting the boot as PM after winning the war, but George did unify Indy car racing. Some would say he destroyed it. In any event, the price tag was too high in dollars according to his mother and sisters on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway board. Geez, multi-millionaires suffer in a bad economy, too.
5. Danica Patrick Enters NASCAR – At least one reader believes Patrick will never measure up in terms of talent to Janet Guthrie, Shirley Muldowney, Desire Wilson, etc. One way or another, there’s very few without an opinion about Patrick. Many just have a hard time grasping the facts on this driver.
6. Michael Schumacher, the U.S. Return To F1 – If Schuey starts winning again with former technical director Ross Brawn at the new Brawn Mercedes team, he’ll be declared touched by God, a worker of miracles and an ever-lasting saint. Plus, all those youngsters in the audience will be able to relax, because 41 will clearly be the new 30.
That spec in the rearview mirror that seems to be growing larger, meanwhile, is the first F1 car built in America since the Eagles of Gurney. And it’s happening in NASCAR Valley, the new fertile cresent of American technology.
7. Force Fudges – To know John Force is to love him. To see him throw a drag race to make sure one of his team members could make it to the NHRA’s championship countdown was sad. Always known for his stream-of-consciousness raps, on this day it was more like stream-of-conscience-less.
8. Sports Car Racing Survives – An economic downturn usually wreaks havoc on sports cars. But that universe is still expanding with the Le Mans Intercontinental Cup endurance series slated for 2010 after the start-up of the Asian Le Mans Series. An eight-hour event for sports prototypes has been announced at the Paul Ricard circuit for next year and a new six-hour enduro at Laguna Seca. As endurance events go, which are not cheap for participants, so goes this branch of motor racing.
