Kyle Busch won his first NASCAR Championship in 2009, taking home the NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

9. Kyle Busch Wins 20 Races in NASCAR Touring Series – This guy has taken over where Dale Earnhardt Sr. left off when it comes to the price of admission and fans getting their money’s worth. Ticket prices remain too high almost everywhere, so I say this with some reluctance as well as admiration.

10. The Dirt Track Revival Is On – The price of motor racing has sent the sport back to the dirt.
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Quote of the Week: In case you missed the already infamous comments about Michael Schumacher’s “twin,” here are the remarks made by Ferrari’s Luca di Montezemolo about the seven-time champion signing with the Brawn Mercedes team. The conversation took place during a media luncheon in Maranello last Friday.

“A guy called Michael Schumacher told us at Monza (in September) he would renew his (Ferrari consultancy) contract,” said di Montezemolo. “And it looked like his career would finish with Ferrari.

“But then there’s another one who looks like him, 40, 41 years old, German, same name and decided to do a new career.

“Everybody in life can do what they prefer, and I understand that there is somebody at 41 years who wants to try again.

“So I think it’s possible this twin, another Michael Schumacher, same age, same capability, some determination and spirit, will drive for Mercedes next year.”
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Old Milwaukee: The closing of the Milwaukee Mile to spectator events means another of the last of the grand dames of American auto racing has, to borrow a phrase from Chris Economaki, gone dark. In this case, Milwaukee was the ultimate in longevity, which makes it all the more sad.

Other mile ovals that helped lay the groundwork for Indy cars and stock cars in the 1930’s and 1940’s such as Pennsylvania’s Langhorne and Atlanta’s Lakewood have long since ceased operation.

Milwaukee, which might well be described as the Wrigley Field of American tracks, extended its glorious auto racing history by switching from dirt to pavement. Meanwhile, the mile ovals at Springfield, Syracuse and DuQuoin, others that helped sustain racing in the post-board track and Depression eras, remained true to their dirt roots. Those three have kept on racing with either motorcycle events, autos or both.

The state-run dirt mile oval at Sacramento, a 1949 arrival on the Champ Car schedule, is now evidently only used for special horse racing events. Privately owned by the International Speedway Corporation, Phoenix, the mile oval which first appeared on the Champ Car ciruit in 1950, continues to thrive under pavement.

So it goes.

See ya! …At the races.

Jonathan Ingram has been writing full-time about the world’s major motor racing series and events since 1983 for newspapers, magazines and web sites.


John can be reached at jingram@racintoday.com