And so it begins...

Well, it's finally here. What most race fans have been waiting for. No, I don't mean it's time to talk endlessly about the "Martinsville Rectal Rockets," i.e., their infamous hot dogs. No, Good readers, the Formula One season has finally arrived for the 2009 season. So far, the F1 boys have gone through some big changes in the off-season, especially on the technical side. 

Right now, the series is opening the season in Melbourne, but already the Ferrari teams are really ticked off because they're starting in the middle of the starting grid while the new Virgin Racing group, complete with Sir Richard Branson, are sitting on the front row. Right now I'm watching the live coverage from SPEED and already you can see a lot of teams are not in the mood to talk with the pit reporters. It's so funny to see the formerly high and mighty teams like McClaren and Ferrari having to fall back to the also-rans. 

The race, as always, has live telemetry here from the Formula 1 flash site so us gearheads can enjoy it live. There's nothing like watching racing late at night from the other side of the world. 

LOCAL UPDATES:

Last weekend I was at the AMA Suzuki Superbike Challenge out at the Auto Club Speedway, and as it is every year, there were fireworks on and off the course. One of the big things happened Sunday afternoon after the Sportbike feature. During the post-race press conference, Jason DiSalvo, who finished third, was talking when the runner-up in the race, Jamie Hacking, leaned over and said something to race winner Danny Eslick, who swept the weekend races. In the middle of that quiet exchange, DiSalvo got heated and told Hacking to shut up while he was talking. 

Hacking was slapped with a suspension, a $4,000 fine and was put on probation for the rest of the year. However, Hacking issued a mea culpa before the end of the week which cleared him to run at Road Atlanta next week. Attack Suzuki, his race team, said they would pay the fine for him. But to be honest with you, Jamie got the short end of the stick on this whole thing. 

The day before, during a similar post-race press conference, Hacking and Eslick, who had also finished 1-2 in that race, had a similar conversation while Martin Cardenas the third-place finisher, was talking, unlike DiSalvo's tirade, there was no outburst that time. Granted, Hacking and DiSalvo have had something of a heated rivalry for some time now. , but side conversations like that occur all the time in press conferences like that. You have to wonder if DiSalvo went overboard in his indignation over Hacking trying to say something quietly to Eslick.

Here's the video from that incident. about 3:39 is when Disalvo gets upset but pay close attention to the response and you might catch Hacking dropping an F-Bomb on him.

I'll post this in YouTube first so I can embed it here.

UPDATE: Sorry for the delay on this video, but my electronics have conspired against me as of late. First, my keyboard's "P" key decided to die on me while my screen continued it's slow death spiral. Further complicating things was the desktop I've used to edit my videos now has no sound for some reason,  plus my temporary monitor fix, the DLP Projector, proved to me more troublesome than I anticipated.

So better late than never, here's the video of the Post-race meltdown that Jason DiSalvo had.

PRACTICE LAPS

Welcome to the first installment of "Backstretch Burners" with Tony Solorzano. The New Year is only a few days old and already we've got some BIG news going on. Some goo and some bad. 

First of all, the first weekend in Southern Calfiornia is usually the traditional kick-off for the Motorsports scene in the Southland Saturday night with the first of three rounds of the AMA Supercross events at Anaheim Stadium. This year's opening round went to Josh Grant, riding for NASCAR mainstay Joe Gibbs Racing, knocking off the two previous AMA Supercross series champs, current title holder Chad Reed and 2007 champ James Stewart.  

Sunday was supposed to be another big day for motorcycle road racing out in Fontana as the WERA West season opened with a slew of races at the Auto Club Speedway. The day, which saw rider Chris Ulrich win three of the top class races held that day, was marred by the death of rider Joe Lopez, of West Covina. The 32 year-old rider, who was working on sponsorships for a proposed team being put together by former Los Angeles Laker Earvin "Magic" Johnson, crashed during the C Superstock race, which was called after a 90-minute delay. 

The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, who's Sports Editor, Louis Brewster, is a long-time racing writer and friend of mine, had further details on Lopez's family life. It's sad, and before anyone gets on their soapbox about how dangerous the sport is, just remember, driving your car everyday is just as dangerous or more so, since you have to dodge huge semi-trailers. I don't want to take a cavalier attitude about something serious about this, but there are a number of waivers and insurance requirements that are needed to get into motor sports and there is always that element of risk inherent in any sport.

On a more positive note, This Saturday is the 39th annual American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association All-America Team Banquet, which honors the top drivers in the industry. My Good Friend, Michael Knight (Please, no Knight Rider jokes) has the information here on his website, including who's being honored. I'll be attending the event after getting back from San Pedro, where the 2nd Annual Legends Celebration will be taking place.

Right now, we're on track for the 6th Toyota All-Star Showdown, NASCAR's "National Championship" for its developmental series. Friday and Saturday, January 23rd and 24th, AQt the Toyota Speedway of IRwindale. Drivers from both the Whelen All-American Series and the Camping World West and East Seirs will be competing for the prestigious racing event. Current Sprint Cup driver David Gilliland is a former competitor in the Showdown, as well as Nationwide Series competitor Matt Kobyluck. 

Stay Tuned to the Mid Valley Sports Central radio Show for more information as well as a special guest the week before the race. The Mid Valley Sports Central show can be heard tuesdays from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. here, as well as on iTunes.

Next Week we'll recap the second round of the AMA Supercross and start looking ahead towards the All-Star Showdown and that other big thing happening in Central Florida the same weekend as that big football game in Tampa, the Rolex 24 at Daytona.