Ford driver Carl Edwards in currently on the 5th place at the Chase for the Championship in NASCAR Nextel Cup. But on the NASCAR Busch Series, Edwards already won the championship title. Right. The recent O'Reilly Challenge race that also took place at Texas Motor Speedway secured Edwards' title, although Chevy driver Kevin Harvick     won the race.

This is the first time for Edwards to win a NASCAR championship. Check out what he said during the press conference.

"I'm proud of my guys. We had an unbelievable first half of the season. We had some many points. These guys have been working very hard. I'm so grateful to be driving this car. To win it here at Texas, this track has a lot of memories here for me. It's just a really good feeling."

Anyway, just check out below for the final point standings of NASCAR Busch Series.

1    Carl Edwards    4494    
2    David Reutimann    3942    
3    Jason Leffler    3733    
4    Kevin Harvick    3713    
5    David Ragan*    3576    
6    Bobby Hamilton Jr.
7    Stephen Leicht    3337
8    Greg Biffle    3256
9    Marcos Ambrose*    3225
10    Mike Wallace    3188
11    Matt Kenseth    3136
12    Denny Hamlin    3011    
13    Clint Bowyer    2961    
14    Scott Wimmer    2907    
15    Jeff Burton    2812    
16    Kyle Busch    2748    
17    J.J. Yeley    2716    
18    Steve Wallace    2639    
19    Kyle Krisiloff*    2634    
20    Casey Mears    2536
21    Mike Bliss    2447    
22    Brent Sherman    2425    
23    Dave Blaney    2401    
24    Jamie McMurray    2087    
25    Brad Keselowski*    
26    Jason Keller    2069    
27    Kasey Kahne    1956    
28    Bobby Labonte    1929
29    Reed Sorenson    1881
30    Aric Almirola    1850
31    Regan Smith    1820
32    Shane Huffman    1727
33    Tony Stewart    1723
34    Juan Montoya*    1689
35    Todd Kluever    1687
36    Brad Coleman*    1680
37    Eric McClure    1639
38    Kelly Bires    1620
39    David Gilliland    1597
40    Ward Burton    1555
41    David Stremme    1554
42    Stanton Barrett    1212
43    Paul Menard    1208
44    Jon Wood    1154
45    Robert Richardson, II*    
46    Richard Johns    1057
47    Robby Gordon    1027
48    Danny O'Quinn Jr.
49    Ryan Newman    851
50    Morgan Shepherd 789

After the official announcement regarding Fernando Alonso's departure from Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, a lot of rumors bouncing around the F1 racing community if who will replace the Spanish driver and become Lewis Hamilton's teammate for the 2008 season. But the team have not yet confirm whether they will sign a new driver or put their test drivers on the McLaren seat.

Martin Whitmarsh, CEO of the team was quoted by the Guardian newspaper in the UK saying, "In truth I think we're rather dictating the driver transfer market at the moment. Until the second McLaren drive is sorted out I don't think you'll see much movement, so we're not really hurried."

He added: "Obviously there are some drivers who've approached us who are contracted elsewhere and we've had to say we can't talk to them unless they can prove they are free to negotiate."

Some sources also said that there is a possibility that Nico Rosberg will complete the McLaren driver lineup, as Lewis Hamilton said that Rosberg is one of the drivers that he would want to team up with. But Williams team confirmed that the German driver has already been signed to the team.

According to Engineering Chief Patrick Head:
"Nico is contracted to our team for 2008 and we have an option for his services for 2009. We are planning to go into next season with Nico as our lead driver, and we would not entertain any approach from McLaren for Nico."

Well, let us just wait for McLaren's announcement soon.

Another racing series ends. The season finale of the NHRA was concluded at the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, in the NHRA 43rd annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals event.

Check out below for the top 10 final point standings in each NHRA category.

Top Fuel
1. Tony Schumacher, 3,186
2. Rod Fuller, 3,167
3. Brandon Bernstein, 3,149
4. Larry Dixon, 3,135
5. Bob Vandergriff, 2,358
6. Doug Herbert, 2,292
7. J.R. Todd, 2,273
8. Whit Bazemore, 2,182
9. Melanie Troxel, 1,173
10. Doug Kalitta, 1,045.

Funny Car
1. Tony Pedregon, 3,178
2. Robert Hight, 3,159
3. Gary Scelzi, 3,092
4. Ron Capps, 3,067
5. Jack Beckman, 2,358
6. Mike Ashley, 2,337
7. John Force, 2,191
8. Jim Head, 2,163
9. Del Worsham, 1,050
10. Ashley Force, 960.

Pro Stock
1. Jeg Coughlin, 3,217
2. Greg Anderson, 3,173
3. Dave Connolly, 3,126
4. Allen Johnson, 3,086
5. Jason Line, 2,292
6. Kurt Johnson, 2,278
7. Larry Morgan, 2,233
8. Warren Johnson, 2,180
9. Richie Stevens, 1,056
10. V. Gaines, 1,025.

Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Matt Smith, 3,211
2. Andrew Hines, 3,205
3. Chip Ellis, 3,204
4. Peggy Llewellyn, 3,108
5. Angelle Sampey, 2,309
6. Craig Treble, 2,283
7. Eddie Krawiec, 2,244
8. Karen Stoffer, 2,242
9. Steve Johnson, 746
10. Antron Brown, 708.

Meanwhile, check out below for some quotes from the champs in every NHRA category.

Jeg Coughlin
"It was spectacular. I woke up this morning and knew I was two rounds behind. We knew we needed to have an outstanding day personally, and a little bit of luck form the other two teams [in the running]. As soon as I cracked up the engine on my Chevy, I felt outstanding."

Tony Pedregon:
"It wasn't a good feeling losing in the first round. The Countdown may have its pros and cons, it was very stressful, but I saw a lot more media and a lot more excitement."

Matt Smith:
"This was a wild day. We came into this race just wanting to win the race. I thought we could get second [in points]. When I saw Andrew lose in the second round I thought 'Wow'. I knew we had a great bike and I'm just happy we could capitalize on it."

Tony Schumacher;
"I'm much happier being in the car having to win than to be on the side hoping someone else would lose. After the second round I thought this is dejà vu."

Hendrick Motorsports team continues to dominated every NASCAR Nextel Cup race this season. After Jeff Gordon won consecutive races, his teammate Jimmie Johnson is now on the spotlight with the recent victory at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the
Pep Boys Auto 500 race.

Johnson commented after the race:
"Today is a great day on a lot of fronts, in so many ways. We had a good car today and as Chad pointed out, probably not the fastest, but his pit call at the end was really what put us in contention to win the race and got the job done for us."

Johnson added: "And then also with the California Wildfire Relief Fund, Mr. Hendrick and I were speaking last week, beginning of this week and we talked about donating the purse, Lowe's has jumped on board, Mr. Smith, Mr. France and I've heard of a few other corporations matching the purse today. We feel confident over a million dollars would be raised and sent out to the Red Cross and hopefully it encourages other people to get involved. Lowe's is using their other stores (inaudible/line static) and whether it's a special paint scheme, if it's for a charity like today, we seem to deliver and get the job done, and I'm happy about that."

Johnson is still on the 2nd place at the Chase for the Championship standings. He is only 9 points behind Jeff Gordon. Here is the result of the Pep Boys Auto 500 race.

1.      48           Jimmie Johnson      Chevrolet     
2.     99          Carl Edwards     Ford     
3.     41          Reed Sorenson     Dodge     
4.     17          Matt Kenseth     Ford     
5.     31          Jeff Burton     Chevrolet
6.     07          Clint Bowyer     Chevrolet
7.     24          Jeff Gordon     Chevrolet
8.     2          Kurt Busch     Dodge     
9.     9          Kasey Kahne     Dodge     
10.     83          Brian Vickers     Toyota     
11.     55          Michael Waltrip     Toyota     
12.     25          Casey Mears     Chevrolet     
13.     45          Kyle Petty     Dodge     
14.     19          Elliott Sadler     Dodge     
15.     29          Kevin Harvick     Chevrolet     
16.     84          A.J. Allmendinger      Toyota     
17.     5          Kyle Busch     Chevrolet     
18.     88          Ricky Rudd     Ford     
19.     21          Bill Elliott     Ford     
20.     44          Dale Jarrett     Toyota     
21.     7          Robby Gordon     Ford     
22.     16          Greg Biffle     Ford     
23.     96          Tony Raines     Chevrolet
24.     11          Denny Hamlin     Chevrolet
25.     8          Dale Earnhardt Jr.     Chevrolet     
26.     26          Jamie McMurray     Ford     
27.     15          Paul Menard      Chevrolet
28.     49          John Andretti     Dodge     
29.     10          Scott Riggs     Dodge     
30.     20          Tony Stewart     Chevrolet
31.     1          Martin Truex Jr.     Chevrolet     
32.     70          Johnny Sauter     Chevrolet     
33.     6          David Ragan      Ford     
34.     42          Juan Montoya      Dodge     
35.     18          J.J. Yeley     Chevrolet
36.     78          Joe Nemechek     Chevrolet
37.     12          Ryan Newman     Dodge     
38.     22          Dave Blaney     Toyota     
39.     40          David Stremme     Dodge
40.     66          Jeremy Mayfield     Chevrolet     
41.     43          Bobby Labonte     Dodge     
42.     38          David Gilliland     Ford     
43.     01          Mark Martin     Chevrolet     

Meanwhile, below is the Chase for the Championship standings.
 
1.      Jeff Gordon      6201      
2.     Jimmie Johnson     6192    
3.     Clint Bowyer     6090    
4.     Carl Edwards     5940    
5.     Kyle Busch     5882    
6.     Tony Stewart     5879    
7.     Kevin Harvick     5809    
8.     Jeff Burton     5801    
9.     Kurt Busch     5782    
10.     Denny Hamlin     5777    
11.     Matt Kenseth     5753    
12.     Martin Truex Jr.     5688    

 

Yes, finally the appeal was lodged! This is what I’ve been anticipating just after the Brazilian GP.

McLaren Mercedes has formally lodged an appeal against the decision not to punish 3 drivers in Sunday's Brazilian GP because of fuel irregularities, the Formula 1 team announced Tuesday.

The Woking Team has appealed to the FIA after Nico Rosberg of Williams as well as Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica of the BMW Sauber were left unpunished under rules concerning fuel temperatures.

What’s the significance?

Should the 3 drivers have their results in Sunday's race at Sao Paolo nullified then McLaren's Lewis Hamilton would win enough points to be crowned world champion instead of Scuderia's Kimi Raikkonen.

"The significance of this matter and its timing is, of course, regrettable," the Woking team said in a statement on its Web site (www.mclaren.com). "The team wishes to win races and Championships on the track. However, if there has been an irregularity, which is not the fault of the team, we feel that the matter must be properly examined to ensure that the rules are applied. This is something that we believe the FIA would fully support and would wish to be seen to have done."

Raikkonen won the race to take the Formula One crown by a single point from the sensational Briton rookie Hamilton and his Spanish double world champion teammate Fernando Alonso.

McLaren are appealing the stewards' decision to take no action against Williams and BMW Sauber, whose fuel was found by checks after the race to have violated technical regulations. To note, their fuel was more than 10 degrees Celsius below the ambient temperature as reported by Reuters. That also means potentially significant performance advantage because fuel performs better at cooler temperatures.

Stewards found that there was a 'considerable discrepancy' between ambient temperatures recorded by F1 Management's monitors and the FIA-contracted meteorologists Meteo France. They ruled that there was therefore 'sufficient doubt' as to render a penalty unsuitable.

The Woking team said it did not question the integrity of BMW Sauber or Williams. "Neither team would have sought to gain an advantage by such an irregularity and the situation could only have arisen as the consequence of an operational error within the team on the day," said McLaren. "Ultimately we feel that the FIA should determine whether an irregularity occurred or not, and the team will fully respect the process and any decision that is ultimately given."

The FIA's International Court of Appeal will hear McLaren's appeal on the 15th of November.

Hamilton finished the race behind the Williams of Nico Rosberg and the BMW Saubers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld but if all three were removed from the results, that would give the Briton the title, reported Planet-F1.

But Max Mosley, president of the FIA which governs F1, said: "For us, the World Championship is over, the result is what it is. A team presented an appeal; at the moment, this doesn't change anything - it's up to them to prove they are right," Mosley told Autosport.

"You could argue whether McLaren had a right to appeal," he added. "They could have protested the result, but they didn't. Apparently they didn't measure the temperature of the fuel. But even if the cars classified ahead of Hamilton would be excluded, would this change his position? The court of appeal will have to rule on that."

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen recently won the 2007 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship (WDC), dethroning Fernando Alonso with the title.  Anyway, as the 2007 F1 season has ended, let me bring you guys the F1 champions throughout the Formula 1 history. Check them out!

1950     Nino Farina     Alfa Romeo    
1951     Juan Manuel Fangio     Alfa Romeo    
1952     Alberto Ascari     Ferrari    
1953     Alberto Ascari     Ferrari    
1954     Juan Manuel Fangio     Maserati
1955     Juan Manuel Fangio     Mercedes
1956     Juan Manuel Fangio     Ferrari
1957     Juan Manuel Fangio     Maserati
1958     Mike Hawthorn     Ferrari
1959     Jack Brabham     Cooper    
1960     Jack Brabham     Cooper    
1961     Phil Hill     Ferrari
1962     Graham Hill     BRM    
1963     Jim Clark     Lotus
1964     John Surtees6     Ferrari
1965     Jim Clark     Lotus
1966     Jack Brabham     Brabham
1967     Denny Hulme    
1968     Graham Hill     Lotus
1969     Jackie Stewart     Matra
1970     Jochen Rindt     Lotus
1971     Jackie Stewart     Tyrrell
1972     Emerson Fittipaldi     Lotus
1973     Jackie Stewart     Tyrrell    
1974     Emerson Fittipaldi     McLaren
1975     Niki Lauda     Ferrari
1976     James Hunt     McLaren
1977     Niki Lauda     Ferrari
1978     Mario Andretti     Lotus
1979     Jody Scheckter     Ferrari
1980     Alan Jones     Williams
1981     Nelson Piquet     Brabham
1982     Keke Rosberg     Williams
1983     Nelson Piquet     Brabham
1984     Niki Lauda     McLaren
1985     Alain Prost     McLaren
1986     Alain Prost     McLaren
1987     Nelson Piquet     Williams
1988     Ayrton Senna     McLaren
1989     Alain Prost     McLaren
1990     Ayrton Senna     McLaren
1991     Ayrton Senna     McLaren
1992     Nigel Mansell     Williams
1993     Alain Prost     Williams
1994     Michael Schumacher     Benetton
1995     Michael Schumacher     Benetton
1996     Damon Hill10     Williams    
1997     Jacques Villeneuve     Williams
1998     Mika Häkkinen     McLaren
1999     Mika Häkkinen     McLaren
2000     Michael Schumacher     Ferrari
2001     Michael Schumacher     Ferrari
2002     Michael Schumacher     Ferrari
2003     Michael Schumacher     Ferrari
2004     Michael Schumacher     Ferrari
2005     Fernando Alonso     Renault
2006     Fernando Alonso     Renault
2007     Kimi Räikkönen     Ferrari

Chevy driver Jimmie Johnson, the winner of the recent Subway 500 race that took place at Martinsville Speedway gave his preview on the upcoming race in Atlanta. Johnson is poised to win the race and continue scoring more points to secure the NASCAR Cup championship title.

Check out what Johnson said on the interview

Asked what his strategy during the race, Johnson said:
"Well, you're trying to be in the top five after the last pit stop. That's a goal I typically have. It would be great if you're leading and defending. But if you run in the top five, there is enough that goes on in the last pit stop that you can pick up some spots."

Johnson also reveals his strategy on the last lap: "On the last lap, if you're chasing someone, you're going where they're not. And that really dictates your move and what you do on the last lap. If you can break the plane of the guy you are chasing and get to his quarter- panel off of Turn 4, the way we side-draft each other even on the 1.5-mile tracks, you will slow him down and you will beat him to the start/finish line. It's just the cycle of it. If the start/finish line were down another couple hundred yards, that inside car would side-draft you and cycle back by and he would win. But the way the tracks are laid out, if you can break the plane of his bumper off of Turn 4, you will win the race. I've had a couple work out that way for me, and I also lost one to Carl (Edwards) that way.

He added: "I see a lot of guys now that if it comes down to the last lap, they know how that cycle works through, and they'll give the bottom to the guy that's chasing them almost saying 'go ahead and take it, not a problem.' You can even let the guy get all the way up alongside of you because the side draft will work and get you back to the start/finish ahead of him. In a lot of cases, the high lane is the place to be. And I see from Busch and Truck racing and obviously, the Cup series, guys leading the last lap just give up the bottom lane because they know that will work. So I think that is kind of common practice now. If you're on a short track it's not going to work for you and the guy is going to motor right on by. But it depends on the track."

Anyway, just watch out for the race this coming week and see if his strategy will work. LOL!