The result of last weekend’s rain-shortened Daytona 500 left me feeling somewhat dissatisfied. No disrespect to Matt Kenneth, who is a good steady driver, but the whole thing felt like an anti-climax.

I love watching racing in the rain. Racing in the rain levels the field and puts driver skill ahead of car set-up. Races like the Italian GP at Monza last year when Sebastian Vettel drove to an outstanding victory in the little rated Toro Rosso car.

But it’s not just on TV, some of my favorite track side memories are of rain soaked days watching the best drivers in the world practice their craft. Watching a race car at speed down a straight throwing up a massive roster tail of spray is one of life’s primal experiences for any true race fan.

Now I’m not suggesting that NASCAR race in the rain at Daytona, but they could consider it at the road race circuits they visit. But what I’d like to see is that when a race is red flagged for rain it is for RAIN, and not for a few sprinkles on the track. Contrast the finish of the Daytona 500 with the Indy 500 in 2007. – Now that’s what I call rain.

And when a race is red-flagged for rain, and is beyond the halfway point, that the result stands immediately. No waiting around to see if the track will dry and you can squeeze the extra laps in. It’s not fair to the drivers, its not fair to the fans. If a race is “official” and is then stopped, the places at the time of the stoppage count. A red flag means the race is over. The person who passed the finish line on the lap before the flag was waved is declared the winner.

The new 2009 rule changes for the upcoming Formula One season are being billed as the biggest set of rule changes in the sport’s history. A statement I’d personally dispute/ But however you quantify them, there are a lot of changes and many of them will have a significant impact on the way that Grand Prix cars will look and behave.

The following computer animated video clip, produced by Red Bull Racing, and narrated by F1 driver Sebastian Vettel is perhaps the best explaination of the new rules and their impact I have seen.

A quick roundup of posts from The Speed Blog twitter feed over the past week.

February 1st

[WRC] Sebastian Loeb (Citroen) wins Rally Ireland 1 min 27.9 secs ahead of team mate Dani Sordo. Mikko Hirvonen (Ford) is third.

February 2nd

[IRL] Haymarket Publishing announces that IndyCar magazine is to cease publication “with immediate effect.”

February 4th

[IRL] Robin Miller is reporting that Robert Doornbos will be joining N/H/L alongside Graham Rahal and other new signing … Milka Duno (!!!)

[NASCAR] Jeremy Mayfield forms Mayfield Motorsports and will run #41 Toyota in Sprint Cup.

[F1] An American team in F1? Looks like plans are underway for that to happen in 2010. Project is called USF1 and will be based in NC.

February 6th

[F1] Scuderia Toro Rosso have confirmed that Sebastien Bourdais will return to the team for a second season in 2009.

February 8th

[NASCAR] Kevin Harvick (#29) last lap dash grabs victory at Bud Shootout.

Teddy Mayer, long time manager of the McLaren F1 tea, and later the Penske CART team, passed away at his home yesterday (January 30) aged 73.

American born Mayer  moved to Europe in 1962 and became part of the team that helped Bruce McLaren form his eponymous Formula One team, taking over as team principal after McLaren’s tragic death in 1970.

My first recollection of Mayer is during mid 1970s as he mentored James Hunt from a mecurical talent into a deserving World Champion.  Mayer also oversaw Emerson Fittipaldi’s chamionship year (1974) at McLaren as well as the company’s victories in CART and Can-Am racing. Mayer stayed with McLaren until 1982, when he moved on to run his own team in CART for four seasons.

James Hunt & Teddy Mayer talk tactics before the USGP West – Long Beach 1977

He returned to F1 in 1986 as part of the promising Haas-Lola team. After sponsor issued forced that team to go out of business, Mayer once more returned  to CART with the Penske organization, with whom he stayed until his retirement in 2007.

Mayer was a highly influential contributor at the highest levels of single seater racing for decades, and from what I’ve read on of the true gentlemen of racing.

During this week’s F1 test in Barcelona we got the first look at how the cars will look with the new 2009 aerodynamic package.

Changes include a low mounted wide front wing (with moveable flaps that the drivers can adjust a maximum of twice per lap), and narrow taller rear wings. All add-on devices such as flick-ups etc are now banned. The cars are also back running  on slick tires. The result….