MOTORSPORT: The master passers

But the master passer has been NASCAR superstar Tony Stewart, who made 118 passes at Homestead speedway in Florida on the way to winning the final race of the Sprint Cup. In the process Stewart clinched his third title, matching the achievement of NASCAR Hall of Famers Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip and Lee Petty.

Waltrip, who was in Australia recently commentating on the Bathurst 1000 and Gold Coast 600 for SpeedTV in the US, tweeted that Stewart had gone from being a hero to a legend.

Four-time champion Jeff Gordon said that Stewart's performance in winning five of the 10 races in The Chase to claim this year's title made him "one of the all-time greats".

The man nicknamed "Smoke", who was questioned at Parramatta police station in mid-January after an altercation at a dirt-track speedway meeting he raced at, reckoned that the Homestead race in which he took the NASCAR title from the long-time series leader Carl Edwards after they finished equal on points was "like a movie".

"I feel like I passed half the state of Florida," Stewart said. A Hoosier, or native of Indiana, he was telephoned by his life-long idol, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J Foyt, who told him it was the best race he'd seen him drive.

The macho "Smoke", who races with Foyt's No. 14 on his cars, was close to tears after the accolade.

Nascar.com columnist David Caraviello reckoned that Stewart had "looked like an Earnhardt at Daytona" -- that's the late Dale Earnhart Senior, seven-time Cup champion, like "King" Richard Petty.

"He passed 118 cars. He became the first driver to come from behind and win the championship by winning the final race. He shouldn't have been able to do it. But he did," Caraviello said.

"This was a race that left people agog ... one of the greatest championship battles in history."

Caraviello said the "occasionally temperamental and sometimes maddening" Stewart had been "the absolute master", driving with "determination and ferocity" against "mesmerising quality" rivals, especially Edwards -- who had no option but to accept his runner-up fate but did so with amazing grace.

"Smoke" loves holidaying in Australia, especially on the Gold Coast and at Hamilton Island, but he won't race again in Sydney, having fallen out with the Parramatta promoters. However, his great mate Donny Schatz will race at Brisbane's Archerfield Speedway over Christmas-New Year and we wonder whether Stewart may show up, perhaps just to watch -- or maybe to race?

Still on the subject of overtaking, Formula One's switch to Pirelli tyres this year and the introduction of driver-adjustable rear wings, or what are more formally called Drag Reduction Systems (DRS), has massively increased the passing in grand prix racing.

Mercedes has compiled statistics showing almost 1500 passes this season in 18 GP.

The Turkish GP, ironically dropped from next year's calendar, has produced the most passes, 85, while the Melbourne race's 17 passes was the second lowest, behind only the tight Monaco street circuit.

Switzerland's Sebastien Buemi, whose future at the Toro Rosso team ironically too is under a cloud, has made the most passes of the drivers, 112.

The front-running drivers, especially dual world champion Sebastian Vettel who so often qualifies on pole position and wins races, do not score highly on overtaking, understandably.

Buemi and the Sauber team's Mexican Sergio Perez topped the chart of passes after the first lap of GPs, with 82 each, while Australia's Mark Webber -- who has made three fabulous passes of Fernando Alonso this year -- ranked fourth on 76, one less than Jenson Button.

Ogier opted out of his Citroen contract at the end of the season and was replaced by Finn Mikko Hirvoven, who finished runner-up to Loeb for Ford -- where it seemed Ogier was headed. He said he was enticed to VW by the German manufacturer being "number one (in car sales) in Europe -- and will soon be number one in the world". However, he won't drive in next year's WRC while VW's Polo R is developed for 2013.

Meanwhile, there are moves in northern NSW to regain Rally Australia from Coffs Harbour, which hosted this year's event won by Hirvonen. Former Tweed shire mayor Kevin Skinner wants the next Rally Oz in 2013 run between Kyogle and Tweed Heads, eliminating the stages that caused such controversy in 2009.

Kyogle mayor Ross Brown has reservations about the event moving north again, saying the Kyogle community "was treated appallingly" by the NSW government and rally organisers last time.

Set the alarm clock for Brazilian finale
One grand prix to go in the Formula One season -- at the fabulous anti-clockwise Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil, early Monday, Australian time. It's always a race worth setting the alarm clock for -- and it is Mark Webber's last chance for a victory this year, after six wins in the past two seasons.

Webber is fourth in the championship, already won by Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel. Webber's 233 points are 22 fewer than McLaren's Jenson Button and 12 fewer than Ferrari's Fernando Alonso -- and only six more than McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

The Aussie won at Interlagos in 2009 and loves its unique atmosphere, natural amphitheatre and kinks -- "something overlooked when it comes to promoting overtaking through circuit design," he said.

Webber said he has "three important days' work" to do in Brazil before a six-week holiday home in Oz and then concentrating on how to regain his 2010 competitiveness against Vettel.

While he is confident of overcoming his difficulties with the Pirelli tyres, Webber raised another factor in the disparity between him and Vettel. "I weigh 10kg more than Sebastian and it has a big bearing on weight distribution, which has a big bearing on starts, which has a big bearing on how the tyres hold up," he said. "But I have had that for my whole career -- I can't be much lighter, so we have to work with what we have."

Brazilian Felipe Massa, a two-time winner at Interlagos, chalks up his 100th GP with Ferrari this weekend but is under pressure to perform if he is continue beyond his contract for next season.

Monday's race also could be the end of the F1 road for Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello, who will be starting a record 323rd GP in a 19-year career that has included 11 wins with Ferrari and the Brawn team that is now Mercedes.

Barrichello faces being squeezed out of the Williams team which is under financial strain, especially with a row erupting over Venezualan driver Pastor Maldonado's huge sponsorship dollars.

While not at quite the level of his multiple world champion countrymen Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet and Emerson Fittipaldi, Barrichello is a much-loved figure in F1.

Asked in Sao Paulo last night about his feelings if this is to be his swansong, Barrichello said: "It would be sad to be worried about the future. I have had 19 lovely seasons. I've been doing this for such a long time. I've been wanted for such a long time here (F1), so I feel good. I feel that I still have a lot of youth in me, and it's not something that I'm asking, 'Please, give me the drive'. If somebody wants me to drive on a competitive basis it's because they believe I can do a very good job -- that's why I'm here."

On his fighting drive from the back of the field at the Abu Dhabi GP two weeks ago he said: "It was really good -- but I don't think the results right now would make any change in what people think I can do and what I cannot do. It's based on different parameters. I hope that it's enough to secure me a good drive for next year."

Webber's big tribute to Barrichello
Mark Webber has paid glowing tribute to Barrichello in his regular column on the BBC website.

"Rubens holds the record for competing in more GPs than any driver in history and he has done so much for our sport on and off the track," Webber said. "He is always willing to stop and give a signature or a photo to fans. He has that family feeling about him, although he still has plenty of mongrel in him in the car... He has had an amazing career. He started in 1993 with Jordan, and he was the first guy to have a bad crash on the terrible Imola weekend in 1994 -- Senna went to visit him in the medical centre only two days before he himself was killed.

"Rubens went though a lot at Ferrari as Michael Schumacher's teammate for six years and has seen so many rule changes, while amassing a wealth of experience... It takes a special guy to be able to compete at that level for that length of time. To have a career of that duration is impressive in anyone's book. He's nearly always got a smile on his face, too, which is great.

"Unfortunately, he is in a bit of a bizarre situation heading into this weekend, in that it could be his last race in F1 but no one actually knows whether it will be... He says he's not treating it as a farewell. I'm hoping he's right because he's so well-liked that, if it is going to be his swansong, the fans -- as well as all his competitors and friends -- will want to be able to give him the great send-off he deserves."

Ricciardo 'pretty happy' with F1 performances
Australia's young F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has a simple aim for his first Brazilian race.

"I'm trying to end the season on a high and go home [to Perth] over Christmas and have something to be pleased about," Ricciardo said.

Asked his thoughts in Sao Paulo on his half-season in F1 with Spanish tail-end team HRT, he said: "I think it's been not bad. Obviously, it took a while to get the big wheel going, but I think I then gained some momentum and have had some pretty good races since then -- and some good qualifying.

"Coming in half way through the season, it's not the easiest thing to do... There's always going to be things that you're not 100 per cent happy about or things you know you could have done better. But there's been a good race along the line, and a good qualifying at least, so I know definitely the potential is there.

"Just got to try to put it together more often. I think that comes with experience as well and more time in the car.

"I'm pretty happy, especially if I'm to finish this weekend on a good note. Then I'll be satisfied with the last 10 or 11 races. I don't know, it's gone bloody quick!

There has been no word on Red Bull-supported Ricciardo's future beyond this weekend, although speculation continues that he will be installed at Scuderia Toro Rosso, for which he drove in Friday morning practice sessions this year until joining HRT.

Asked what he knows of his future, Ricciardo said: "Not much! Like a few of us (drivers), we're not really sure what's happening next year, but I think I'll live for the moment and try to do the best I can this weekend and see what comes from there... Hopefully I'll keep Dr Marko (Red Bull motorsport chief) and the guys at Red Bull happy and see what opens up for next year -- but, yeah, it's not really something I'm prioritising at the moment. My mind's set on the weekend."

Red Bull's next rising star
Young French sensation Jean-Eric Vergne, who topped the recent F1 test in Abu Dhabi driving a Red Bull RB7, may be placed at the Caterham (previously Lotus) team next year, in the same way Ricciardo has been at HRT.

Vergne won this year's British Formula Three Championship -- the title Ricciardo won in 2009.

The Frenchman, known to be held in particularly high esteem by Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko, boldly stated in a column in French publication, Le Nouvel Observateur, that he "would do no worse than Webber" if racing for Red Bull. An associate of Vergne has sought to defuse the fuss that comment caused.

In any case, Red Bull won't be giving any rookie a seat in its world championship team -- they have to do the "hard yards" at Toro Rosso or on loan to lesser teams, or both.

Vergne's likely link to Caterham is that it will use Red Bull's gearbox, hydraulics and Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) next year.

Meanwhile, HRT has hired Spanish veteran Pedro de la Rosa on a two-year contract, while the future of Polish star Robert Kubica -- badly injured in a rally crash early this year -- remains clouded.

Renault, in the process of becoming the Lotus team -- after its legal tussle with what will be Caterham -- and to which Kubica is still contracted for another month, has said he will not be fit to race at the start of next season. However, Kubica's manager, Daniele Morelli, has taken issue with Renault's statement.

Although he has missed a season, with perhaps more time on the sidelines ahead, Kubica is repeatedly linked to Ferrari, in place of Felipe Massa, because of his friendship with Fernando Alonso. However, after the severity of his hand injuries, Kubica now would be a big risk for Ferrari -- which already has persevered with Massa after his head injury a couple of years back for little return.

McLaren this week has downplayed speculation that Honda would return as engine supplier. McLaren-Hondas dominated F1 in the days of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost but the Japanese company's efforts at being a complete F1 constructor ended ignominiously in 2008.

Texas F1 plans about to bite dust
The future of the Circuit of the Americas in Texas that is due to host a V8 Supercar Championship round in 2013 is under an even darker cloud now. The Formula One grand prix scheduled to be held there next November 18 almost certainly will be cancelled in the next couple of days.

Work on the circuit has stopped for the second time and the organisers are trying to rewrite the contract with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, which they say is "unrealistic and unfeasible".

American F1 journalist Dan Knutson wrote tellingly about the situation in Australia's Auto Action magazine this week.

"The state of Texas had originally agreed to advance the project US$25 million using funds from its Major Events Trust Fund," Knutson said. "But the state's comptroller, Susan Combs, now says the money will only be paid after the race is held and proved to be a financial success that repays Texas in tax revenue."

Ecclestone has set this weekend's Brazilian GP as the deadline for the Texas organisers to pay his fees and sign the latest contract.

Bobby Epstein, founding partner of Circuit of the Americas, said: "We have been ready to send Mr Ecclestone a sanctioning fee cheque for some time now.

"He hasn't received it yet because the new contract presented to us two weeks ago contained unrealistic and unfeasible demands... We have signed and returned a contract similar to what we anticipated receiving.

"This race should be a reality, but if we are going to make the 2012 race date we must receive a counter-signature in the coming few days."

Ecclestone said in Sao Paulo he doubted the race would happen. "They're not complying with the terms and conditions of the contract," he said. "We (Formula One Management) make the contract. We will award the event or not award the event. They are not awarding anything to us.

"They have been messing around now for four months. There's two partners arguing and two different groups arguing with each other, and in the end none of them have got the money."

On whether his contract was "unrealistic and unfeasible", Ecclestone said: "Well they shouldn't sign it. My advice to them is don't sign it. And they probably won't get the opportunity."

The US has not had a GP since the last at Indianapolis in 2007, but -- irrespective of what happens in Texas -- Ecclestone also has a deal for a race in New Jersey against a backdrop of New York's Manhattan skyline in 2013.

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