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.

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.

… with the top two championship contenders battling it out for the lead over the last few laps of the last race, and one of the closest finishes in series history.

Congratulations to Helio Castroneves on coming from the back of the field to take the race win, and congratulations to Scott Dixon for taking the 2008 IRL crown. It doesn’t get much better than this  - here’s to more of the same in 2009.

I almost danced for joy when I read the report on the Autosport website earlier today that Dario Franchitti is to return to IndyCar racing with Chip Ganassi’s team.

I never really understood his move to NASCAR and while I wished him the best, I am overjoyed to see that he is returning to open wheel racing.

So how about Juan Pablo Montoya coming back to run in a third Ganassi car? Or A.J. Allmendinger and Scott Speed in a Red Bull sponsored IRL team alongside a returning Sebastian Bourdais?.  - Ah…  I can only dream.

Just a few days after my post about how race commentators can impact TV ratings comes news that the Indy Racing League has signed a new TV deal.

According to the announcment the series new TV partner  “will produce extended coverage, including pre and post-race shows and, potentially, programmes between races.”

All this sounds great, except for one point.

That new TV partner? - the cable channel Versus

Who?

I’ve never heard of it before. Apparently Versus is not included in most basic satellite packages, as ESPN is, and reaches 20 million fewer homes.  (OK a little research shows that Versus is the new brand for OLN best known for its hunting and fishing shows.)

I’m one of those 20 million fewer homes. I have Direct TV and whenever I’ve looked at a cable or satellite deal I’ve always stipulated that whichever package I get includes SPEED TV and ESPN.

Apparently the IRL also renewed its deal with ABC to screen five races each season, including the Indianapolis 500. So instead of watching a full season of 17 races, I’ll only be watching the occasional event.

So this makes sense how?