1. Simon Pagenaud bounced back from a disappointing race from his first career pole to a dominating drive. The Frenchman lost a lot of ground Saturday but made it up today. Drives like these today will keep his championship hopes alive as we kickoff the second half of the season.
2. A great team for Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports as Mikhail Aleshin started and finished second. Had a little contact with Graham Rahal but it didn't disrupt his day. He did 40 laps on the final stint to finish second. Aleshin has been aggressive in his rookie season but not reckless and has landed at the right team to provide him a platform to show off his skills.
3. Jack Hawksworth rounded out the podium, the first of his career, and a great weekend for rookies. All four full-time rookies scored a podium this weekend. Lots of hidden talent in IndyCar. Carlos Huertas went from 19th to 1st yesterday. Both Carlos Muñoz and Hawksworth went from 23rd to 3rd in the two Houston races. What great drives by both.
4. Charlie Kimball has been a piss poor qualifier in 2014 but no one has passed more guys in 2014 than Kimball. From 19th to 4th today, the fourth time Kimball has made up double-digit positions from his starting position this season.
5. Sébastien Bourdais had a great weekend. Watch out for him at Toronto and the remaining road and street courses. And the big ovals. Bourdais has done well at the big ovals.
6. Ryan Hunter-Reay kept his nose clean this weekend and that's what he needed after two horrible weekends at Belle Isle and Texas. On to Pocono where he ran well before Takuma Sato kamaikzed him on the pit lane. This could be the turn around in the championship Hunter-Reay needed.
7. Juan Pablo Montoya was up front all day for the second consecutive day and has done well all season to this point. He has no problem getting back into the swing of things in open-wheel racing.
8. Ryan Briscoe had a quiet eighth place finish. That is all.
9. Marco Andretti had another back to the front to the back to the front drive today. His car showed a lot of speed but after contact that sent Justin Wilson into the tires, he lost a step and fell back. If Andretti can keep up these runs on road and street courses while picking up a win or two on ovals (especially the remaining legs of the Triple Crown) he could be in position for the championship.
10. Tony Kanaan had a late tire rub drop him out of contention for a top five but he was able to manage a top ten despite the late pit stop.
11. Just when it looked like another day proving everything is going to fall Will Power's way for the championship, it all went to hell. From 18th to 3rd, Power appeared to be the beneficiary to Hélio Castroneves' stupidity, an average day for Hunter-Reay and brake problems for Scott Dixon and only concede a little ground to Pagenaud but then the Aussie had a suspension issue drop him from 3rd to 11th in the final two laps. He still has a healthy grasp on the championship but he has had plenty of healthy leads vanish with fewer races remaining. It's not over yet.
12. Justin Wilson has a reason to be upset after contact with Andretti dropped him from a top ten to a lap down. Mike Conway and James Hinchcliffe both also finished a lap down but neither had impressive days. Luca Filippi was in position for a top ten before he lost it into the tires all on his own. This was a much better weekend for the Italian than the results will show. Same for his teammate Graham Rahal. Rahal ruined his own race Saturday but contact with Aleshin and gearbox issues today ended what was a promising run for Rahal.
13. Sebastián Saavedra had a typical Sebastián Saavedra-like day and finished in a typical Sebastián Saavedra 17th.
14. He made a second half comeback in 2013 but I am not sure Scott Dixon will be able to do the same this year after his weekend at Houston. Brake problems today hampered the Kiwi's day. He won at Pocono last year and it started a three race winning streak but the gap is much greater in 2014 and Power has barely put a foot wrong all year.
14. Takuma Sato finished 19th today and you have to wonder how much longer can he last? The accident yesterday with Aleshin may not have been his fault but Sato finds a way into those situations. He has all the speed in the world but rarely has the result. Imagine what Sage Karam, Conor Daly, J.R. Hildebrand, Oriol Servià or James Davison could do in that car.
15. Josef Newgarden can't catch a break, no pun intended as he had a brake failure today. We have seen plenty of races where the Tennessean has been up front, battling with the top teams but we have yet to see that at the end of races.
16. Hélio Castroneves should be suspended one race for bitching and two for blocking. He slide across Bourdais going into turn six, takes himself out and then has the gaul to say it was the Frenchman's fault. And Penske should be forced to hire an American to be Castroneves' replacement for the three races he is on the sidelines.
17. Saturday was a great day to Colombia. Sunday, not so much. Carlos Huertas' day ended after two laps and Carlos Muñoz tapped the wall just enough to ruin a top ten run.
18. I love Houston but I despise it. The on-track action was fantastic but the circuit makes me want to rip my hair out. With all the drivers blowing through turn two, just widen the turn. Widen the whole
circuit. It needs it. Or move the race to the best permanent road course in the United States just up the road in Austin. And maybe it shouldn't be a doubleheader. The drivers were beat after this race. Either move this race or give another place (say St. Petersburg or Barber or an oval) the doubleheader.
19. And now to Pocono, my home race. I will be there Sunday. Forecast calls for rain Sunday. Let's hope that can hold off. Look forward to more posts this week.
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