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 5 "I'd rather be lucky than good" moments in Auto Racing By Brian H Cotnoir 1.)  Tom Sneva wins the 1978 IndyCar Championship without winning a race Tom Sneva defended his 1977 USAC IndyCar Championship in 1978, but he did it all this time without winning a single race.    Sneva won the Championship by a comfortable 122 points over Al Unser Sr. who won 3 races that season, including that year's Indy 500.  However, Al Unser Sr. had to miss two rounds due to injury.   Danny Ongais scored a career high 5 wins that season and only managed to finish 8th place that season.  Even Mario Andretti running a partial schedule won an IndyCar race that season while dominating the F1 Championship that year for Lotus F1 in Europe.   During the 18-race season, Sneva finished runner-up a total of 6 times, and finished in the Top 3 in 10 times that season.   This was more than enough to make up for his lack of wins on the season. 2.)  Jamie...

5 Lesser-known facts about racecar drivers By Brian H Cotnoir I think the title speaks for itself.   I hope you all enjoy it. 1.) The Unser Family has won the Pikes Peak Hillclimb 26 times! The Unser family name is typically synonymous with the Indianapolis 500.  Al Unser Sr. won the race a record 4-times (a record he shares with 3 other driver), his brother Bobby Unser won the race 3 times, and his son Al Unser Jr. has won the race twice. However, there's another racing circuit where the Unser's have truly dominated, and that is the Pikes Peak Hill Climb.  Despite the fact that it's not an actual racetrack, the over 12-mile hill climb, was part of the AAA/USAC Schedule & Championship. (Predecessor to the IndyCar Series) from 1946 to 1970.  I know a lot of people think it's strange that the Indy 500 was part of the F1 Calendar for 10 years, but I think the Pikes Peak Hillclimb being a part of the IndyCar schedule is even stranger. The race has been won the U...

 5 Times Drivers got SCREWED out of a win By Brian H Cotnoir If there's one thing in racing that pisses me off, it's seeing a driver (or team) get absolutely screwed out of a win because of some B.S. call or "rule infraction".  It's something that happens in every racing league from your local short track to top echelons of motorsports.  It's wrong, and it can be a huge turn off to lifetime fans of the sport.   There are probably more moments than I ever realized, but let's just start with these five. 1.)  Regan Smith at Talladega 2008 I already talked about this in my defense of Regan Smith article, but I will repeat what I said: NASCAR screwed Regan Smith out of his first career win at Talladega Super Speedway in 2008.   NASCAR implemented the controversial Double-Yellow line rule in an attempt to eliminate unsafe or highly risky passes at Daytona and Talladega.  The rule stated you could not pass below the Double Yellow...

 5 of the Most Important Women in Auto Racing By Brian H Cotnoir Since the first days of auto racing the sport has remained a mostly Male dominated sport.  Women have entered races in NASCAR, NHRA, IndyCar, USAC, World of Outlaws, and even Formula 1!   Some have even gone on to win races in their sport:  Danica Patrick was the only woman to win a race in IndyCar, Erin Crocker is the only woman to have won a race in the World of Outlaws, Erica Enders & Brittany Force have won championships in the NHRA, and most recently Hailee Deegan and Gracie Trottier have won races in the ARCA Menards West Series.  There are well known female pioneers in racing like Janet Guthrie and Ethel Mobley, and there are many more who have gone on to do great things on and off the track, so in Honor of Women's History Month I've decided to talk about 5 of the Most Important women in Auto Racing (in no particular order). 1.)  Kelley Earnhardt Miller She's Dale Earnhardt Sr....

 My Thoughts on the 2021 Abu Dahbi Grand Prix By Brian H Cotnoir What a finale to the 2021 Formula One World Championship Season!    Congratulations to Red Bull and Max Verstappen for taking the World Drivers titles and Mercedes for winning the Constructors title!  A lot of controversy has arisen from the finish of the race, and I have to say the fan outrage regarding the finish and the final drivers' standings is pure tommyrot!  Listen, I understand fans of Lewis Hamilton are upset he lost the race and the championship, but the decisions made by the FIA are completely justified! Our Champion, Ladies & Gentleman I have seen so much Fan-Rage on Facebook and Reddit regarding the final restart and the FIA's decisions, and to them I have to say: get over yourself you big babies!  No one cares that you cancelled your Sky Sports Subscription, or about your vows to "never watch Formula One again.   We all know that you're going to be back watching FP...

 5 of the Best "FINALLY!" Moments in Auto Racing By Brian Cotnoir Last night Daniel Hemric finally won his first race in NASCAR's Top 3 Series.  Not only was that his first win in NASCAR, but it also won him the 2021 Xfinity Series Champion.   Hemric who has been running in NASCAR full-time, in some capacity, since 2014 and until last night was tied for the record of most career runner-up finishes in the Xfinity series without a win, 10.   In addition he also had 2 runner-up finished in the Truck Series.   Hemric in the Xfinity and Truck Series consistently ran and finished in the Top 5, but never seemed to be able to pull it together, until last night.   No more will he have to hear the question "When are you going to win your first race?".   Finally, he is a NASCAR winner & champion.   That got me thinking; what are some of the other Best "Finally" moments in racing. 1.)  Will Power Finally wins the IndyCar...

  5 More lesser-known, but awesome racing stories (Part 6) By Brian Cotnoir Here we go again!    These are some awesome stories (…well maybe not #2) that you’ve probably never heard about in racing.    I hope you you enjoy reading this article as much as I did researching and writing it.   1.)   The Official Indy 500 Pace Car crashes into the photographer stands The Indianapolis 500 is the most famous open wheel race held in the United States (and quite possibly the world).    Manufacturers every year vie every year to have one of their vehicles be the official pace car of the Indy 500.   In 1971, four Indianapolis-area Dodge dealers supplied Dodge Challenger’s to be the official pace car or that year.   With track owner, Tony Hulman, ABC Reporter Chris Schenkel, and astronaut John Glenn riding along for the parade lap, pace car driver Eldon Palmer pulled onto the pit lane and began to accelerate.   Palmer mistakenly be...

  5 of the Most Important Crashes in Racing History By Brian Cotnoir In 2020, we’ve seen a lot of scary accidents: Ryan Newman’s flip at the end of the Daytona 500, Maverick Vinales having a motorcycle fly over his head at over 200KM/h and losing his brakes the following race, and most recently Romain Grosjean’s fiery crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix.   The fact that all three of these men walked away with only minor injuries is a testament to the safety and improvements racing his endured over the years.    A decade ago we probably would have been mourning Ryan Newman and Romain Grosjean this year because of those horrendous accidents, but due to safety improvements in racing over many decades and good grace of God, they are still here with us today. All three of these accidents are sobering reminders of how dangerous motorsports truly is, and it’s because of previous accidents that we’ve seen these improvements made, and that got me thinking that some of these...

  Top 5 Substitute Performances in Formula 1 By: Brian Cotnoir In one of the most memorable seasons in Formula 1 History, Nico Hulkenberg has made his 2 nd substitute start (and 3 rd appearance of the season) for the Racing Point team.   In both of his starts—the 70 th Anniversary GP at Silverstone and the Eiffel GP at the Nurburgring—Hulkenberg has finished both races in the points scoring 10 total so far.   He has proven to be a valuable and reliable asset to the Racing Point team’s hopes in the Constructors Championship, and well that got me thinking; what are some of the other great substitute driving performances in F1 History? Now, I just wanted to put a disclaimer before you continue reading: I am only considering drivers who replaced an injured or ill driver and then left the seat once the sick or injured driver returned or was replaced by another driver. I am omitting drivers who replaced drivers who were either fired or died during a race or season as t...