Bloggin' is Racin'

Bobby Hamilton Racing to cease operations

Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia announced this week that it will cease operations. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, which was founded by the late Bobby Hamilton in 1998, started 2008 as a two-truck team but reduced to one by the end of the year, lost its sponsorship from Dodge at the end of the season. Read more here.

-- Michele Vincze

Dixon a sure thing in '08, but economy may hamper IndyCar in '09

Looking back at the 2008 season ...
Scott Dixon, right, started out the 2008 IndyCar season with a pole and a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and it only got better from there. After losing the 2007 title to Dario Franchitti on the final lap of the final race, Dixon dominated this year with a series-high six victories, seven poles and 14 top-five finishes in 17 starts. He won the Indianapolis 500 for the first time and earned his second IndyCar title, edging Helio Castroneves by 17 points. But 2008 wasn’t only about Dixon. The season saw the demise of the Champ Car World Series, which forced most of its teams to migrate to IndyCar and finally unified the American open-wheel world. It didn’t take long for one of the former Champ Car drivers to shine when young Graham Rahal won in his first start in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) on April 6. Another series first came in the next race when Danica Patrick earned her first IndyCar win at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. And Castroneves made news when he finished second seven times before earning his first win of 2008 at Infineon Raceway in August. 

Looking ahead to next year ...
Helio Castroneves, right, will likely be one of the biggest storylines in 2009, but not because of his one-track talents. Castroneves is scheduled to go to trial in March as he faces federal tax evasion charges. His status with Team Penske is uncertain. Also uncertain is the racing careers of several drivers who raced full time in 2008. Justin Wilson (Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing), Ryan Hunter-Reay (Rahal Letterman Racing), Will Power (KV Racing Technology) and Oriol Servia (KV Racing Technology) are all “looking” for rides because their teams have not yet secured sponsorship for their cars. Others searching for a place in the series are veterans Paul Tracy, Bruno Junqueira, Tomas Scheckter and Darren Manning. If, or when, these talented drivers find a ride, they’ll be challenged by a slightly different IndyCar schedule. The series starts the year on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., and ends on the 1.5-mile oval in Homestead, Fla. The schedule is well-balanced with eight road/street courses and 10 ovals. The series will run united for the first time in the Long Beach Grand Prix on April 19 and return to Japan at the end of the season. Thirteen races will be broadcast on Versus, including the Bombardier Learjet 550 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 5. The other races will air on ABC.

-- Michele Vincze
Photos: Star-Telegram (top), The Associated Press (bottom)

Warning: Rookies on track

Looking back at the 2008 season ...
You might have missed it, but NASCAR did crown some rookies of the year in 2008. One actually has ties to Texas. Regan Smith, right, beat out former IndyCar champion Sam Hornish Jr. by seven points for the Sprint Cup honor. Landon Cassill, driving a partial schedule for JR Motorsports, won the ROY in the Nationwide Series, beating out Bryan Clauson by eight points. In the Craftsman Truck Series, Ovalo native Colin Braun became the sixth Roush Fenway Racing driver to win ROY honors in the series. Hornish came up short in his bid, but he shouldn’t hang his head. He was the only former open-wheel star to survive his rookie campaign in Sprint Cup. He said he’s committed to staying in NASCAR, despite rumors that had him returning to IndyCar. Lack of sponsorship and an ankle injury doomed IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti’s attempt at NASCAR, and former Champ Car star Patrick Carpentier was fired at Gillett Evernham Motorsports after a spat with his crew chief at the fall Talladega event. Former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve saw his Cup venture cut short after failing to qualify for the Daytona 500.

Looking ahead to next year ...
Winning Rookie of the Year doesn’t seem to come with any guarantees. At of the end of the 2008 season, Smith was the odd man out when Dale Earnhardt Inc. thinned its stable of cars after it merged with Chip Ganassi Racing. Cassill’s ride with JR Motorsports is in limbo because Dale Earnhardt Jr. has yet to find sponsorship for the No. 5 Chevy. Braun seems to be the only driver able to set solid goals for 2009. Mercifully, perhaps, the open-wheel trend seems to be coming to an end in Sprint Cup, with only former Formula One star Scott Speed, above, scheduled to attempt a full-time run in 2009. He’ll battle teenage phenom Joey Logano and possibly Chad McCumbee for the ROY honors. Should be a good scrap. At least better than 2008.

-- Michele Vincze
Photos: Getty Images