Schumacher wins to tighten standings
With two races to go, Formula One’s season couldn’t be closer.
Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher’s victory Sunday in the Chinese Grand Prix ties him with defending champion Fernando Alonso of Renault at 116 points.
Alonso was second and Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella third, in a race that started wet and whose outcome was largely determined by tire choices as the track dried.
Renault’s second- and third-place finishes, meanwhile, put it one point ahead of Ferrari 179-178 in the race for the constructor’s championship.
It all comes down to what happens later this month in Japan and Brazil.
Alonso had the pole in Shanghai, but lost the lead on the 31st lap. He had to struggle back to finish second.
If the season ends in a tie, the winner will be the one with the most victories, which would currently be Schumacher, seven to six.
If Alonso picks up another win and it’s still a tie, it will go to whoever has the most second-place finishes, which, at present is Alonso, six to four.
Sunday’s win was the 91st of Schumacher’s career and his fifth in the last seven races.
Honda’s Jenson Button finished fourth, McLaren’s Pedro de la Rosa fifth, Honda’s Rubens Barrichello sixth, BMW-Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld seventh and Williams’ Mark Webber eighth.
NHRA
Rookie star J.R. Todd raced to his third Top Fuel victory of the year, using a career-best pass of 4.494 seconds to power past Melanie Troxel in the final of the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.
In just 16 professional starts, Todd has pushed his final-round record to a perfect 3-0 with a string of career-best passes. After out-running Cory McClenathan in the first round, Todd lowered his personal best time to 4.502 against Tony Schumacher and then posted a career-best top speed of 327.82 mph against Dave Grubnic. He then dipped into the 4.4s for the first time to beat Troxel with a 4.494 at 324.12 mph.
In Funny Car, Phil Burkart scored an unlikely victory over Robert Hight to win for the first time in 53 races.
Three-time Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson won his 42nd title, while Karen Stoffer topped the Pro Stock Motorcycle field.
There was movement at the top in the series point standings, with 13-time champ John Force inching past Ron Capps in Funny Car by a single point, and Antron Brown regaining the points lead over Andrew Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) retained narrow points leads with three events remaining.