FORMULAONE STANDINGS

Formula 1 Standings
Rank	Driver	Points	Behind	Starts	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Top 15	Top 20
1	Jenson Button	84		14	4	6	10	13	13	14
2	Rubens Barrichello	69	15	14	0	2	9	13	13	14
3	Sebastian Vettel	59	25	14	3	2	8	9	11	14
4	Mark Webber	51.5	32.5	14	1	1	7	10	12	14
5	Kimi Raikkonen	40	44	14	0	1	5	10	13	14
6	Lewis Hamilton	37	47	14	3	2	4	7	10	14
7	Nico Rosberg	30.5	53.5	14	0	0	5	11	13	14
8	Fernando Alonso	26	58	14	1	0	4	10	13	14
9	Timo Glock	24	60	14	0	0	3	12	14	14
10	Jarno Trulli	22.5	61.5	14	1	0	4	6	10	14
11	Felipe Massa	22	62	10	0	0	3	6	7	10
12	Heikki Kovalainen	22	62	14	0	0	3	7	9	14
13	Nick Heidfeld	12	72	14	0	0	2	6	12	14
14	Robert Kubica	9	75	14	0	0	1	4	10	14
15	Giancarlo Fisichella	8	76	14	1	0	1	4	12	14
16	Adrian Sutil	5	79	14	0	0	1	3	6	14
17	Sebastien Buemi	3	81	14	0	0	0	2	5	14
18	Sebastien Bourdais	2	82	9	0	0	0	3	5	9
19	Kazuki Nakajima	0	84	14	0	0	0	3	10	14
20	Nelson Piquet Jr.	0	84	10	0	0	0	1	6	10
21	Luca Badoer	0	84	2	0	0	0	0	1	2
21	Vitantonio Liuzzi	0	84	2	0	0	0	0	1	2
23	Jaime Alguersuari	0	84	5	0	0	0	0	2	5
24	Romain Grosjean	0	84	4	0	0	0	0	2	4

IRL/INDYCAR POINTS STANDINGS

2009 Standings
RANK	DRIVER	POINTS	BEHIND	WINS	POLES	TOP 5	TOP 10
1	Scott Dixon	570	—	5	1	11	13
2	Dario Franchitti	565	-5	4	4	12	14
3	Ryan Briscoe	562	-8	3	4	12	12
4	Helio Castroneves	403	-167	2	1	6	9
5	Danica Patrick	381	-189	0	0	5	10
6	Marco Andretti	368	-202	0	0	2	11
7	Graham Rahal	366	-204	0	1	5	9
8	Tony Kanaan	354	-216	0	0	4	9
9	Dan Wheldon	342	-228	0	0	3	9
10	Justin Wilson	334	-236	1	1	3	6
11	Hideki Mutoh	325	-245	0	0	4	7
12	Ed Carpenter	303	-267	0	0	1	6
13	Raphael Matos	296	-274	0	0	0	8
14	Ryan Hunter-Reay	281	-289	0	0	2	3
15	Mario Moraes	278	-292	0	0	3	5
16	Robert Doornbos	271	-299	0	0	0	5
17	Mike Conway	246	-324	0	0	1	3
18	E.J. Viso	234	-336	0	0	0	1
19	Will Power	215	-355	1	2	4	6
20	Tomas Scheckter	173	-397	0	0	0	2
21	Oriol Servia	115	-455	0	0	1	3
22	Alex Tagliani	114	-456	0	0	0	3
23	Paul Tracy	113	-457	0	0	0	3
24	Milka Duno	100	-470	0	0	0	0
25	Sarah Fisher	77	-493	0	0	0	0
26	Jaques Lazier	65	-505	0	0	0	0
27	Richard Antinucci	63	-507	0	0	0	0
28	Vitor Meira	62	-508	0	0	0	1
29	Stanton Barrett	62	-508	0	0	0	0
30	Darren Manning	38	-532	0	0	0	1
31	Townsend Bell	32	-538	0	0	1	1
32	A.J. Foyt IV	26	-544	0	0	0	0
33	Alex Lloyd	17	-553	0	0	0	0
34	Scott Sharp	16	-554	0	0	0	0
35	Nelson Philippe	16	-554	0	0	0	0
36	Kosuke Matsuura	13	-557	0	0	0	0
37	Roger Yasukawa	12	-558	0	0	0	0
38	John Andretti	12	-558	0	0	0	0
39	Franck Montagny	12	-558	0	0	0	0
40	Davey Hamilton	10	-560	0	0	0	0

CLOSE INDY CHAMP RACE EXPECTED

Franchitti trails teammate Scott Dixon by five points entering the season finale – the Firestone Indy 300 on Oct. 10 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe is the third man in on this title fight, sitting eight points back. Franchitti’s goal is simple: finish ahead of Dixon – as he did by a whisker in the 2007 finale to win the title – and Briscoe to earn a $1 million bonus among other prizes. It’s already been a successful and memory-laden return to the series’ diverse set of ovals and road/street courses at age 36 — four victories, four pole starts, 12 top-five finishes, 470 laps led and the opportunity to become the third multi-time champion in series history. Just like his major North American open-wheel racing experience that will reach 200 events at St. Petersburg (Fla.) in March 2010. A decade ago, Franchitti was involved in a down-to-the-wire race for the CART title, which he lost to Juan Montoya based on a tiebreaker (seven wins to three). In 2007, he swapped the spot atop the standings with Dixon – ahead by three points — entering the finale at Chicagoland Speedway. After running second for the final 6½ laps, he overtook Dixon’s car to claim the victory and championship. Franchitti projects the battle to play out to the conclusion of the 200 laps on the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway oval, where he has three top-10 finishes (high of fourth in 2006) in five races. “It’s going to be a very close race,” he said. “It’s not a typical one-and-a-half mile because the corners are so tight. It’s a one and a half that drives more like an Iowa. It’s going to be a hell of a show at Homestead.”

Memphis magic on Coughlin’s mind

 

Memphis magic on Coughlin’s mind

 

MEMPHIS (Sept. 29) — With seven national event victories and 14 races atop the Full Throttle point standings this season, Jeg Coughlin Jr. has been the most prolific drag racer on tour in 2009. Yet since the Countdown to 1 playoff began two races ago, Coughlin has been playing catch-up, relegated to second place by his only first-round loss of the season in Charlotte.

 

Through two of six Countdown to 1 events, Coughlin finds himself 63 points off the lead. A manageable deficit, yet one he hopes to begin erasing at this weekend’s 22nd annual Midsouth Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.

 

“If we can gain one round a race then we’ll be right there at the end,” Coughlin said. “That’s a very realistic goal. We had a stumble there in Charlotte but every team has those races. I think we saw last weekend in Dallas that our car is back to the way we like it to be and I’m looking forward to getting back out there.

 

“Every round is big. We’ve seen numerous races this year where there have been 50-60 point swings so it can all change in a hurry. Memphis has been a great track for us in the past so maybe this will be a race where something big will happen.”

 

Behind the wheel of his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt, Coughlin won this event in 2000 and 2002. Both of those seasons ended in championships for the 39-year-old Coughlin. He was also runner-up at this race in 2003.

 

Additionally, Coughlin won the last two NHRA titles, making him the only Pro Stock driver to win the championship since the advent of the Countdown to 1.

 

“We’ve come from behind in each of the last two seasons and managed to win the crucial rounds down the stretch,” Coughlin said. “It looks like this year could set-up the same way. Certainly we have a team full of people that know what it takes to win it all. We’ll fight hard for every round win left.”

 

Jeg Coughlin Jr / Pre-race Notes

 

Jeg Coughlin Jr / Pre-race Notes
O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals
Memphis Motorsports Park
Memphis, Tenn. (Oct. 2-4)

 

The O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals is the third of six events in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoff that will determine the 2009 Full Throttle Champions. Jeg Coughlin enters the event as the second-ranked driver in the Pro Stock class. He currently trails leader Mike Edwards by 63 points.

 

Jeg has won two career Pro Stock races at Memphis Motorsports Park. He won in 2000, beating Scott Geoffrion in the final and won again in 2002, beating Gene Wilson. In both years, Jeg won the Pro Stock championship. He also has a runner-up finish at the 2003 event.

 

Jeg is the reigning NHRA Pro Stock champion. He has earned four NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock titles in his career, including back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. His other titles came in 2000 and 2002. As a sportsman racer, Jeg also captured the Super Gas championship in 1992.

 

NHRA/ MIKE NEFF

MIKE NEFF KNOWS COUNTDOWN CLOCK TICKING DOWN

MEMPHIS, TN (September 28, 2009) — With only four race left in the Countdown to 1 Mike Neff and the Ford Drive One team know they need to make a move and it needs to happen quickly. Time is not on their side.

They had a solid race car in Dallas but for the second race in a row they ran into the Ashley Force Hood Castrol GTX Mustang buzz saw. In Charlotte they were forced to race one of the hottest teams of 2009 in the opening round and in Dallas they met in the second round. With temperatures soaring and the right lane of the Motorplex’s all-concrete race surface going away Neff really did not stand a chance against Force Hood in the re-match.

“It was an exceptionally warm weekend here. We struggled with keeping it from spinning the tires and putting cylinders out. That was our downfall. Looking at the weather it should be cooler in Memphis so basically we just will try and get back on track. The car has been running good. It was just a matter getting it consistent and keeping it running on eight cylinders. I think we will be in good shape for Memphis.”

Getting in good shape for Memphis could mean a Hight-like run up the point standings. Heading into Memphis Neff is 30 points behind No. 8 Tim Wilkerson, 32 points behind No. 7 John Force and 48 points behind No. 6 Ron Capps. Those three drivers have four first round losses between them in the first two Countdown races.

Mike Coughlin wins third JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals title in four years

Mike Coughlin wins third JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals title in four years

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Sept. 27) –  Mike Coughlin took a giant step towards what he hopes will be his second North Central Division Top Sportsman title in the last three years with an impressive victory at the fifth annual JEGS NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals. With the final rounds postponed until Monday due to rain, Coughlin drove his JEGS.com Cobalt to a final round victory over former Division 3 champion Mitch Smith, who broke on the starting line. The win continues an unprecedented run of success for Coughlin at the JEGS SPORTSnationals races, which highlight competitors in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Mike has now appeared in the final round at the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals four times, taking three victories since the inaugural event in 2005. His impressive résumé also has a win and a runner-up at the JEGS Cajun SPORTSnationals in Belle Rose, La.

 

Mike entered the event ranked sixth in the very competitive Top Sportsman class but has taken over the lead following his latest victory. Unofficially, Mike now holds a 21-point lead over second-place Reed Hughes, and can still better his score at two upcoming events.

 

“This is a pretty cool deal,” said Mike. “The final was not at all what I expected but we will take it. We needed all the points we could get in order to stay in the hunt for the championship and we got every one that was available. Other than the rain, the weekend just couldn’t have gone any better.

 

“I don’t know what it is about these [SPORTSnationals] events but I seem to do pretty well at them,” Mike continued. “Obviously, I also enjoy racing here at Columbus. This is our home track and there is a comfort level here. It is just like racing in my own living room.”

 

Coughlin’s driving was impressive as he produced five very competitive reaction times behind the wheel of his 200-mph Cobalt. After qualifying with a 6.88 elapsed time, he also made four consistent runs in the 6.8s during eliminations before taking it easy in the final after Smith’s car never moved from the starting line.

 

“When I left the starting line, I kind of glanced over and saw that Mitch’s car never moved,” said Mike. “After that, I was able to take it easy for the rest of the run. It was a tough weekend for everybody with all the rain we had. We raced late into the night on Sunday before they finally called it for the evening and I’m glad they did because I tend to drive a little better during the daytime.”

 

Coughlin’s brother, John, lost in the opening round of the Top Dragster class and posted a round two finish in his Super Stock Cobalt. T.J. Coughlin also posted a round one finish in his Super Comp dragster while fellow third-generation Coughlin racers Cody, Jack and Paige took part in a one-run Jr. Dragster race held on Sunday.

 

Despite the early loss, John remains a contender for the North Central Division Top Dragster champion so he and Mike are currently making plans to attend the final Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event of the season at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Nov. 5-8. Since he has two races left in which to claim points, Mike is also planning on continuing his pursuit of the Top Sportsman title at next weekend’s Doorslammer Nationals at Ohio Valley Raceway.

 

“This race was huge but I don’t think this championship is over yet,” said Mike. “I still have two races to improve my score and I’m going to take advantage of them. The Ohio Valley Race is an eighth-mile race which should be interesting and then John and I are going to load up and go to Las Vegas to finish the year. That should be a lot of fun.”

 

ROBERT HIGHT WANTS TO KEEP STREAKING IN MEMPHIS

ROBERT HIGHT WANTS TO KEEP STREAKING IN MEMPHIS

MEMPHIS, TN (September 28, 2009) — The only think hotter than the temperature at the Texas Motorplex last weekend was the performance of Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang.

To say they dominated might be an understatement. They were the number one qualifier, top speed, low elapsed time and race winner in the funny car class. The last time an NHRA funny car team led all those categories Gary Scelzi accomplished the feat in Chicago in 2007. Hight last duplicated this effort his rookie year, 2005, in Denver.

On Sunday Hight dispatched four drivers, three of whom have championship aspirations of their own in 2009. Hight defeated Tim Wilkerson, Ashley Force Hood and finally Jack Beckman in the final plus a driver who logged more frequent flier miles to get to Dallas than all the qualified funny car drivers combined, Leif Helander of Sweden. It was Hight’s second career win at the Texas Motorplex and the 13^th of his career moving him past Texas Motorplex owner and former funny car driver Billy Meyer on the all-time funny car win list.

NHRA POINT STANDINGS

Sunday’s 24^th annual O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex:

FUNNY CAR – 1. Robert Hight, AAA Texas Ford Mustang, 2241; 2. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 2228; 3. Jack Beckman, 2196; 4. Tony Pedregon, 2182; 5. Bob Tasca III, 2170; 6. Ron Capps, 2147; 7. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 2131; 8. Tim Wilkerson, 2129; 9. Mike Neff, Ford Drive One Mustang, 2099; 10. Del Worsham, 2085.

TOP FUEL – 1. Tony Schumacher, 2272; 2. Larry Dixon, 2245; 3. Cory McClenathan, 2218; 4. Antron Brown, 2207; 5. Shawn Langdon, 2188; 6. Brandon Bernstein, 2155; 7. Spencer Massey, 2152; 8. Morgan Lucas, 2124; 9. Doug Kalitta, 2074; 10. Clay Millican, 2062.

PRO STOCK – 1. Mike Edwards, 2288; 2. Jeg Coughlin, 2223; 3. Greg Anderson, 2208; 4. Allen Johnson, 2179; 5. Jason Line, 2177; 6. Greg Stanfield, 2169; 7. Johnny Gray, 2146; 8. Kurt Johnson, 2113; 9. Ron Krisher, 2093; 10. Rickie Jones, 2020.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – 1. Hector Arana, 2318; 2. Eddie Krawiec, 2291; 3. Andrew Hines, 2207; 4. Matt Smith, 2170; 5. Douglas Horne, 2156; 6. Michael Phillips, 2139; 7. Karen Stoffer, 2127; 8. Shawn Gann, 2125; 9. Craig Treble, 2104; 10. Matt Guidera, 2020. 

 

HIGHT WINS AGAIN; TAKES FUNNY CAR POINTS LEAD

DALLAS VICTORY MEANS HIGHT WINS AGAIN; TAKES FUNNY CAR POINTS LEAD
- Ashley Force Hood 2^nd, Force 7^th and Neff 9^th in Full Throttle Points-

DALLAS –- Robert Hight’s dramatic rise up the Full Throttle point standings reached a crescendo at the Texas Motorplex today when the perennial championship contender  won the 24^th annual O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals and grabbing the points lead for the first time in the 2009 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in the process. This was Hight’s third final in a row and his second consecutive win. He dominated all weekend grabbing the No. 1 qualifying spot, running top speed and getting the win for the AAA Texas Ford Mustang team.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s kind of like it hasn’t hit me yet. You know going to the three finals in a row is tough, but we kind of had the kiss of death against us this weekend. We were No. 1 qualifier and usually in Funny Car No. 1 qualifier doesn’t do well. To run the table here, it’s just a great tribute to my team. They did such an awesome job. We have four in a row (four races in four weeks to start the Countdown to 1) here. It is so exciting as a driver to be able to go back right out next week and maybe keep this streak going and keep what we have rolling because when you’re on a hot streak, you don’t want to go home and celebrate,” said the two-time Fall Nationals winner (2006). “You want to get back in that race car and keep it going. We have two more weeks. First two races of the Countdown couldn’t have been any better for us, [we] won them both and went from worst to first. It’s very exciting for me but it’s something I never thought was going to happen. I still didn’t ever lose faith in my team. You dream big but this is huge.”