33 Thoughts After the Indianapolis 500

After having sometime to think about it, here are some thoughts I have:

1. Rest of 2012 is going to be great.

2. Thank God we have four consecutive races after Indianapolis this year.

3. Three of the four are ovals.

4. Two are short tracks.

5. I really hope the following drivers get a break in 2012 (in no particular order): Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Takuma Sato, Ed Carpenter, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, Tony Kanaan.

6. Great to see Susie Wheldon at the track. She has a wonderful group of supporters there for her.

7. Rubinho looks to be the favorite for Rookie of The Year. If they award was for the whole month I would have Rubinho and Josef Newgarden split it. Newgarden had a hell of a month but the race doesn't show it.

8. Does the new car really need push-to-pass at all?

9.  How can we make bleacher cooler?

10. Will different aero kits produce racing where driver can pull away from one another?

11. Oriol Servia had a great day and one has to think he will be a factor at other races in 2012.

12. If Servia can do that with a Chevrolet, imagine what Bourdais can do with it especially on a road course.

13. Bryan Clauson had a rough day but it was his first career IndyCar race. Can't write the kid off after one race. I hope he gets a shot at Milwaukee and Iowa, if not the rest of the ovals.

14. The Lotus situation wasn't that big of an issue. They ran, they were black flagged before they became a hazard.

15. Michel Jourdain Jr. held his own. Speaking of Jourdain, what is the latest with Luca Filippi and the second Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan ride?

16. Justin Wilson and Dale Coyne Racing finished 7th. 15 to 20 years ago if I had told you Dale Coyne would have a top 10 car at Indianapolis and be in a position late to win the race, besides the fact they were apart of CART and the series were split, you would have laughed in my face.

17. The start of the race was magnificent.

18. Double-file restarts would have made things interesting considering how thrilling they were this year as single-file.

19. When will somebody give Townsend Bell a full-time ride?

20. ABC actually did a good job for once. I was truly impressed. Marty Reid did well, so did Scott Goodyear and I would like to see Eddie Cheever in the booth for all ABC races.

21. The live in-car cameras from the WatchESPN app gave me a chance to actually walk around the house and not miss the race.

22. New car did a great job with those heavy impacts today.

23. Add Mike Conway and AJ Foyt to those who deserve a break.

24. I am going to miss listening to Donald Davidson every night.

25. Now we have two drivers going for a fourth victory.

26. I think Franchitti is more likely to do it than Castroneves.

27. Will we see Ana Beatriz, Sebastian Saavedra or Wade Cunningham again in 2012? We probably won't but tomorrow never knows.

28. Will be interesting to see what the ratings are.

29. For those who did not watch the race it is their loss.

30. I hope Jim Nabors returns next year.

31. Charlie Kimball had a great month and race and deserves a little more respect.

32. Kind of an off-shoot of #29, if anybody had a problem with today's race or did not enjoy it then I don't know what to tell you. It was exciting. A lot of great racing, record number of lead changes and if that doesn't do it for you I don't know what to say.

33. 364 days until the 97th Indianapolis 500.