Erik Tomas' 'Tales'... from Raceline Radio
Lewis Hamilton continues to astound! A week after his first pole and Formula One win in Montreal, the 22 year old U.K wonder-kid marches into Indianapolis, another track he’s never laid eyes on before, and scores his second-straight pole and win!
And at the Brickyard, he battles his McLaren team mate and reigning champion Fernando Alonso head-to-head, and beats him again, heads up! Hamilton lets more opening lap wreckage swirl in behind him off the start, beats Alonso out in the first round of pit stops and where most rookies may have backed off, he goes hub-to-hub with Alonso on lap 39, holds his line and his nerve, and Fernando never got close enough to stop the kid again!
So that’s 2 poles, 2 wins and 7 podiums in his first 7 GP’s! Pretty fair shootin’ in anybody’s rifle range! McLaren boss Ron Dennis says this time there was never a question of team orders, legal or illegal in some books. They let the boys race even though they’re on the same team and those Constructors points are the most precious, evident with the sweaty palms on the McLaren wall when Alonso and Hamilton went side-by-side.
Good racing, but what happens if they crash each other out? Ah, there’s the Formula One rub! It’s interesting to watch and listen to the American media coverage of Lewis Hamilton’s feats. They rarely run the story without mentioning he’s the first black F-1 driver, that he’s pulling off these heroics, and he’s a black driver.
While it certainly is historic, The U.K and European media seems to downplay the race angle. And when I interviewed Lewis and had him on Raceline Radio last week, I was politely asked to avoid the topic. They said Lewis prefers we not dwell on his ethnicity. Fine with me. I don’t care if the kid’s purple. The much bigger story is the fact that we just might be looking at Formula One’s first rookie champion.
That would be absolutely huge, no matter what colour his skin is! So while my crystal ball worked with Lewis Hamilton, I might need to adjust the horizontal hold on the Dale Earnhardt sweepstakes.
I was convinced he was headed to continue his daddy’s legacy at Richard Childress Racing once he announced his departure from DEI. Wrong. Rick Hendrick, who’s known Little E. since he was the “Smallest E.” wanted NASCAR’s most popular driver on his squad with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears and all those championships.
Maxed out at 4 teams, something had to give, and that was Kyle Busch. I had an interview with Busch ready to pop this week, but that was yanked when contract renewal talks broke down when I’m told Busch wanted too much money prompted by offers from other teams. Hendrick suddenly had a tenant check out of his hotel and that left a room for Earnhardt Junior.
I loved the story Rick and Junior told during the chunk of the media conference we played on the show. When E was only 15, he signed a little contract on a napkin to work for Hendrick when he started driving. When they finalized the deal this past week for real, Rick reminded Junior of their napkin contract. Junior was surprised Rick remembered it.
Hendrick says he never brought it up because he was afraid of Junior’s daddy if he tried to enforce it! Laughter all ’round. The Earnhardt Junior-Hendrick alliance also has emotional roots. Ricky, Rick’s son, who we lost in a plane crash, once said to his Dad one day Dale Earnhardt Junior would drive for Hendrick Motorsports. Junior lost his Intimidator Dad at Daytona, so just maybe Rick sees Dale Junior’s arrival as the fulfillment of his late son’s prophecy, and Junior’s got a strong father figure in his career again.
In this closely knit sport of racing automobiles, where families face risk together every day, that’s not as far fetches as it sounds. What do YOU think? Drop me an e-mail and let me know! Any suggestions? Opinions? Comments? Better ideas? Keep the E-Mails coming for The Raceline E-Mail Bag! The address: erik@raceline.ca Do you agree or disagree with the commentary? We invite your feedback! Until next time, talk to ya’ll on Raceline Radio! ET
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