Balaclava Image Deep Throttle Logo
Auto Racing History Image
HOME THOUGHTS ESSAYS RANKINGS HISTORY
About Us
Russell's Ramblings
IMSA Thoughts
Photos
F1 Schedule
Master Schedule
Debunking Myths
News Links
Shopping
Ed Donath Archive
Guestbook
In Association with Amazon.com

2007 Houston Thoughts

EVENT: Even more successful than the year before with a 31% attendance increase.

THE BIG PICTURE: Champ Car wants to be in Texas for marketing and demographic purposes. Okay, we came to town and did not embarrass ourselves. Now, we can go home to rest.

RACE: With the third straight street race and a long gap on the schedule afterwards, there was no longer a reason for the drivers to be careful. And it showed.

TRACK: For a track where you can't pass, there sure was a lot of passing throughout the field. That and a lot of failed passes, too.

START: The first attempt looked okay, and we figured they would throw the green on a worse lineup. Surprise, surprise, the second attempt was the best start in a long, long time.

BOURDAIS: At the start of the year, many asked if Sebastien would run the table. Las Vegas nixed that right from the start. However, we may need to revisit that concept.

RAHAL: Graham said he had the second fastest car, and he did indeed finish second. We hope his girlfriend enjoyed that instead of the Senior Prom. We also hope for Bobby's sake that his son was kidding when he said Dad should stay home from now on...

NEWMAN HAAS LANIGAN: They are annoying, win or lose. But, they are good in this version of Champ Car, and they are very hard to beat. Very hard.

DOORNBOS: What do you know? Another podium for Robert, our biggest surprise so far this season, although he's not a commanding presence on the track. He's funnier than most of the drivers and not too hard on the eyes according to the ladies. Is he a star in the making? Too soon to tell, but he is leading Rookie of the Year which is a rather tough competition this season.

SERVIA: Gerry Forsythe said if Oriol won today, he would run him all season. Well, he's sixth in points and has only run two races. It's not our money, but if it was, we would definitely run Oriol all year.

PAGENAUD: This time Simon had problems early in the race, leaving time to make up for it. He's far more impressive than a tenth place spot in the standings.

DOMINGUEZ: Once again, Mario gets in the way of a Forsythe teammate.

JUNQUEIRA: Seventh in the race and fifth in the points. Bruno's got to be making Dale Coyne a very happy man.

DALZIEL: Ryan continues to make up in the race what he lacks in qualifying.

TAGLIANI: Alex leads the series in laps completed and is fourth in points. He learned a lot last year when he couldn't afford to crash his car.

WILSON A blown opportunity. Yet, despite starting third, leading 12 laps, and looking racy all weekend, Justin doesn't seem to have anything for Seb when he needs it.

POWER: Pulled a Tracy trying to beat Bourdais.

MORENO: Welcome back, "Old Man."

GOMMENDY: We can't decide if Tristan is Jimmy's experiment in trying to win a race with alternate fuel strategy ala Jim McGee or if Tristan is a much better driver than we thought. But, consider that behind Bourdais and Power, who have both won races this season, Tris is third in laps led. We know, weird, isn't it?

HALLIDAY: Matt's three race deal just expired, and his results have not been impressive.

CONQUEST: Mr. Philippe should consider the idea of buying into Bachelart's team and running Nelson. They're good guys and deserve a break.

JANI: He was running in fourth when he got hit, setting off an interesting tirade from Kevin Kalkhoven.

LEGGE: Katherine is not going to be well respected in the series if she continues to drive as she did today.

CLARKE: Dan's season goes from bad to worse.

PACIFIC COAST MOTORSPORTS: We suggest stealing Michael Cannon from Minardi...

TRACY: Looking forward to Portland.

FIGGE: We hope Alex gets better soon. While there are faster drivers in the series, no one other than PT is as honest and that makes Tom Figge's boy a welcome addition.

MATOS: Three for three in Atlantic. It's not a surprise that Raphael is doing well this year. What is surprising is that he is doing so well with seemingly such ease.

F1: Certainly a good alternative to keep you busy during the long break. Plus, F1 has something Champ Car doesn't -- three different winners in three races. Heck, there are times F1 doesn't have three different winners for a whole season! It certainly is an interesting F1 season this year.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Hot.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 50% -- Sebastien Bourdais has won 22 of his last 44 races since the start of the 2004 season.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: The last time someone won a Texas race twice in a row was when A.J. Foyt won three consecutive races at the 2-mile College Station oval in August, 1978, April, 1979 and August, 1979.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Graham Rahal on missing his prom, "I'm much better at this than dancing."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Ryan Dalziel on the rough Houston circuit, "I can't think at the moment, my brain is rattling in my head!"

SCHEDULE: The dreaded (first) seven week gap is upon us. It's time for Champ Car to get busy.

Copyright © 2007 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.



Courtesy of the Champ Car World Series

RACE RESULTS
  Driver Laps
1. Bourdais 93
2. Rahal(R) 93
3. Doornbos(R) 93
4. Servia 93
5. Pagenaud(R) 93
6. Dominguez 93
7. Junqueira 93
8. Dalziel(R) 93
9. Tagliani 93
10. Wilson 93
11. Power 92
12. Moreno 90
13. Gommendy(R) 85
14. Halliday(R) 77
15. Jani(R) 67
16. Legge 67
17. Clarke 67

Time of Race
1:45:32.136

Winner's Speed
88.986 mph

Margin of Victory
4.819 sec.

Caution Flags
4 for 17 laps

Lead Changes
6 among 4 drivers

Lap Leaders
Sebastien Bourdais, Tristan Gommendy, Justin Wilson, Will Power

Fastest Race Lap
Sebastien Bourdais

Most Positions Improved
Robert Doornbos

Friday Pole
Sebastien Bourdais

Saturday Pole
Will Power

CURRENT STANDINGS
  Driver Pts.
1. Bourdais 73
2. Power 70
3. Doornbos(R) 61
4. Tagliani 57
5. Junqueira 53
6. Servia 51
7. Rahal(R) 46
8. Wilson 41
9. Gommendy(R) 39
10. Pagenaud(R) 38
  Dalziel(R) 38
12. Dominguez 36
13. Legge 35
14. Jani(R) 34
15. Tracy 26
16. Figge(R) 21
17. Clarke 19
18. Halliday(R) 18
19. Moreno 9
 
 
2008 Thoughts
Long Beach

2007 Thoughts
Preseason Las Vegas Long Beach Houston
Portland Cleveland Mont Tremblant Toronto
Edmonton San Jose Road America Belgium
Holland Surfers Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2006 Thoughts
Preseason Long Beach Houston Monterrey
Milwaukee Portland Cleveland Toronto
Edmonton San Jose Denver Montreal
Road America Surfer's Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2005 Thoughts
Preseason Long Beach Monterrey Milwaukee
Portland Cleveland Toronto Edmonton
San Jose Denver Montreal Las Vegas
Surfer's Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2004 Thoughts
Preseason Long Beach Monterrey Milwaukee
Portland Cleveland Toronto Vancouver
Road America Denver Montreal Laguna Seca
Las Vegas Surfer's Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2003 Thoughts
Preseason St. Petersburg Monterrey Long Beach
Brands Hatch Germany Milwaukee Laguna Seca
Portland Cleveland Toronto Vancouver
Road America Mid-Ohio Montreal Denver
Miami Mexico City Surfer's Paradise Postseason

2002 Thoughts
Preseason Monterrey Long Beach Japan
Milwaukee Laguna Seca Portland Chicago
Toronto Cleveland Vancouver Mid-Ohio
Road America Montreal Denver
England Miami Surfer's Paradise
Fontana Mexico City Postseason

2001 Thoughts
Preseason Mexico Long Beach Nazareth
Japan Milwaukee Detroit Portland
Cleveland Toronto Michigan Chicago
Mid-Ohio Road America Vancouver German
England Houston Laguna Seca
Surfer's Paradise Fontana Postseason

2000 Thoughts
Preseason Miami Long Beach Brazil
Japan Nazareth Milwaukee Detroit
Portland Cleveland Toronto Michigan
Chicago Mid-Ohio Road America Vancouver
Laguna Seca Gateway USGP Houston
Surfer's Paradise Fontana Postseason

1999 Thoughts
Preseason Miami Japan Long Beach
Nazareth Brazil Gateway Milwaukee
Portland Cleveland Road America Toronto
U.S. 500 Detroit Mid-Ohio Chicago
Vancouver Laguna Seca Houston
Surfer's Paradise Fontana Postseason

1998 Thoughts
Preseason Miami Japan Long Beach
Nazareth Brazil Gateway Milwaukee
Detroit Portland Cleveland Toronto
U.S. 500 Mid-Ohio Road America Vancouver
Laguna Seca Houston Surfer's Paradise Fontana

1997 Thoughts
Miami Surfer's Paradise Long Beach Nazareth
Brazil Gateway Milwaukee Detroit
Portland Cleveland Toronto
U.S. 500 Mid-Ohio Road America
Vancouver Laguna Seca Fontana
Site Index | Search | Contacts | Ad Rates |


Copyright © 1999-2024 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.
The names, logos, and taglines identifying Deep Throttle are proprietary marks of Deep Throttle. All other trademarks and service marks are property of their respective owners. Deep Throttle is an independent electronic publication and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any series, team, driver, or sponsor. Privacy Policy.