Top 10 Races of 2014

As the holidays approach, here's my 10 favorite races of the 2014 season.

10) 2014 Grand Prix of Indy (IndyCar)- First time racing on the newly configured and modernized infield course of IMS.  Simon Pagenaud held off competitors for his first win of the 2014 season.

9) 2014 Monaco Grand Prix (F1)- Nico Rosberg led every practice session, qualifying and the entire race in Monaco, giving him a victory.

8) 2014 AAA Texas 500 (NASCAR)- The race was dull until the last 100 laps, several cautions ensured, but the postrace fight between Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick & Brad Keselowski made for entertainment, but also costed Keselowski's championship hopes.

7) 2014 Daytona 500 (NASCAR)- A race that featured nearly a 6 and a half hour delay due to rain saw Dale Earnhardt, Jr. winning his 1st race of the 2014 season, after having a dominant 2nd half of the race.

6) 2014 Ford EcoBoost 400 (NASCAR)- The championship race was definitely a battle between the 4 contenders, but it was Kevin Harvick who won the race and his first Cup title.

5) 2014 Indianapolis 500 (IndyCar)- It was actually a clean Indy 500, but the rookies like Carlos Munoz, Sage Karam and NASCAR star Kurt Busch, all had top-10 finishes.  Ryan Hunter-Reay won the race

4) 2014 GP of Long Beach (IndyCar)- The Long Beach race was in my opinion the best race of the year, featuring a big crash taking out several contenders including Tony Kanaan & Ryan Hunter-Reay, but it was Mike Conway who stole the show and wins.

3) 2014 GEICO 500 (NASCAR)- It was typical Talladega, didn't know who would win until the very end, and it was Brad Keselowski, who needed a win to advance to the Eliminator Round of the Chase, and he did.

2) 2014 Canadian GP (F1)- The whole season was dominated by Mercedes (Lewis Hamilton/Nico Rosberg), but it was an action-packed entire race in which Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was able to hold off the title contenders for his 1st ever win in F1.

1) 2014 Cheez-It at the Glen (NASCAR)- The last 30 laps at Watkins Glen was a duel and an exciting battle between AJ Allmendinger & Marcos Ambrose.  In the end, it was Allmendinger for the win.


SILLY SEASONS
In NASCAR, as I mentioned previously, Carl Edwards joins Joe Gibbs Racing, while Trevor Bayne (who drove for Wood Brothers), gets promoted to the Cup series, driving for Roush-Fenway Racing.  Darrell Wallace, Jr. will move to the Xfinity Series (formerly Nationwide), driving for RFR as well.  Ryan Blaney will focus mainly on the Cup series for Wood Bros, but also will race in other series as well.  Sam Hornish, Jr. goes back to full-time Cup racing, driving for Petty Motorsports, while Marcos Ambrose returns to V8 Supercars in Australia.

In the Verizon IndyCar Series, Simon Pagenaud joins Penske Racing, making it a 4-team stable, joining Will Power, Juan Pablo Montoya & Helio Castroneves.  Jack Hawksworth leaves Bryan Herta Autosport and now races for A.J. Foyt.  James Hinchcliffe leaves Andretti Autosport and moves over to Schmidt-Peterson, replacing Pagenaud.  With nearly 3 months until the season starts, there are still seats open up for grab.

The biggest silly season continues to take place in F1, as Fernando Alonso joins Jenson Button at MacLaren.  Sebastian Vettel replaces Alonso at Ferrari, while Daniil Kvyat takes Vettel's place at Red Bull.  Toro Rosso brings in 2 rookies in Carlos Sainz, Jr. and Max Verstappen, and Sauber comes in with an all-new lineup in Marcus Ericcson & rookie Felipe Nasr.  Caterham and Manor have yet to name their drivers.