Sebastian Vettel’s lead is up to 60 points with only six races remaining this season. I don’t want to say it’s over but when does testing for next season start? Actually, if Fernando Alonso can catch up anywhere, it’s in Korea. With wet weather expected for qualifying and the race, maybe inclement weather can liven things up in the championship.
Sports
IndyCar – September News Roundup: Silly Season Begins
Well, I’m not sitting on five weeks’ worth of IndyCar news just to keep with the regular schedule around here. With F1 having the week off, I thought I’d take the opportunity to recap some of the more interesting news in the IndyCar series since the last race in Baltimore. And there certainly has been some interesting rumblings in the world of IndyCar.
Join The 2013-14 Lowdown Blog Fantasy Hockey Pool
It’s time once again for the annual Lowdown Blog Fantasy Hockey Pool. As per usual, we’ve created our fantasy hockey league over on the TSN/ESPN fantasy website. It’s a public pool so anyone can join. If we run out of space in the pool, we’ll create extra pools to get readers a pool for the year. And we’ll be doing the head-to-head writer challenge again this year where we laugh at how bad I am at fantasy hockey where PIM is a stat.
It’s a head-to-head league with the winner of each match-up based on winning the most of the nine categories (G, A, +/-, PIM, SOG, STP [Special Teams Points], Wins, GAA, SV%) in play kinda like the old Yahoo pools we all used to play. Each team has 20 roster spots with nine forwards, four defensemen and two goalies starting each night.
The autopick draft takes place at 5:00 AM on Monday, September 30, so sign up now and set your picks.
Click here to go to the LowdownBlog.com Fantasy Hockey Pool.
F1 Singapore Grand Prix: This is Why NASCAR Fabricates Cautions
The Formula One World Championship may have left Europe but the change of scenery doesn’t mean that there has been a change at the head of the field. Sebastian Vettel dominated the weekend and the race with such a dominant win that you almost wonder if everyone else ran GP2 cars this weekend instead of F1 cars.
F1 Power Rankings: Singapore Grand Prix
We’ve reached that point in the season where Sebastian Vettel has a ludicrous lead in the World Drivers’ Championship and we hope that something happens to make things a bit more interesting when I wake up early Sunday morning to watch the races. Vettel has a two race lead with seven races to go. Unfortunately for the field, we’re getting into a series of tracks that Vettel excels at. Well, it was a nice championship battle while we had it.
F1 Italian GP: I Wanna Go Fast
The fastest that a Formula One car goes during the season is about 210 MPH. That happens on the long front straight of the Monza circuit which is home to the Italian Grand Prix. It’s that speed which makes the Italian GP one of the more exciting during the season.
While one would typically associate high top speed with the Mercedes and Ferrari powered teams, it was the Renault powered Red Bull team that dominated the weekend with Sebastian Vettel picking up the win. I guess they’re fast on more than just the twisty bits.
F1 Power Rankings: Italian Grand Prix
Apart from Monaco, the most prestigious race on the Formula One calendar is the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. While Monaco has all the glitz and glamour, Monza is the heart of the sport. The fans at this race, mostly the tifosi, are the most passionate for the sport of any crowd of the season. Spraying champagne on a sea of red-clad fans is a highlight for any driver.
IndyCar – GP of Baltimore: Demolition Derby
The Baltimore street circuit has given us some memorable moments and races in its previous two appearances on the calendar. It’s amazing that it’s been as racy as it has because it’s very bumpy and very narrow but, somehow, it results in a good show.
That was the case in this weekend’s IndyCar Grand Prix of Baltimore. The narrow city streets of Baltimore and tight corners resulted in Dallara being the big winner of the weekend as they’ll make a mint off of selling replacement parts. On track, it was Simon Pagenaud who kept his nose relatively clean en route to his second win of the season.
F1 Power Rankings: Belgian Grand Prix
Summer vacation is over and it’s back to work for the drivers and teams of the Formula One World Championship. It’s time for the annual trip to the Spa-Francochamps circuit for the Belgian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton may have picked up his first win in a Silver Arrow in Hungary but now that we’re at a track where passing is possible, I don’t like Mercedes’ chances.
IndyCar – Mid-Ohio Indy 200: A First Time for Everyone
If you went into Sunday’s race thinking that the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course had it out for Charlie Kimball, I would have agreed with you. Last year, Charlie injured himself in a practice crash which kept him out of the race. A practice crash this year forced him into his back-up car for the race. And still Charlie fought through the adversity to win his first IndyCar race in decisive fashion.
The Lowdown 