1. Let's get the racing out of the way. Juan Pablo Montoya on top. At the beginning of the season I thought he would do well but not this well and I definitely didn't think the Colombian would be in victory lane. I am going to touch more on Montoya tomorrow in my Musings From the Weekend column but he proved today he is the best driver in IndyCar at stretching fuel mileage. Chevrolet clearly has leaped over Honda in the fuel mileage department since Honda switched to the twin-turbo for this season but Montoya, Will Power and Sébastien Bourdais have gotten better fuel mileage than everyone else this season, especially at Pocono.
2. Hélio Castroneves made it a Penske 1-2 but to be honest, it didn't seem like he had that good of a day. He benefited from Power's penalty and the way pit strategy was working out. It puts him right in the thick of the championship picture but he has to win races, not necessarily bring the car home in a decent position to become champion. We learned that last year.
3. Carlos Muñoz was outstanding all weekend. You have to wonder if a victory is going to fall his way. Aggressive on ovals with no fear and great car control. Andretti Autosport excels on short ovals and guess where IndyCar is at next Saturday night... Iowa.
4. Ryan Briscoe was up front all day. He finished fourth, top Ganassi driver. He didn't have a car that could compete with Team Penske, his teammate Tony Kanaan or Muñoz (though Briscoe did set fastest lap) but it's nice to see Briscoe have a good day.
5. Scott Dixon snuck into a top five. He methodically worked his way through the field. It might be a little late to resurrect his title defense but the top five keeps his hopes alive.
6. Simon Pagenaud and Mikhail Aleshin are a match made in heaven. Both are quick and it really has benefitted the Russian Aleshin. Had he come into IndyCar with a single car team or KV, his talent is wasted. Aleshin had a better race than the likes of Briscoe, Dixon and Pagenaud who all finished ahead of him and he made a banzai move, driving closer to the pit lane wall at Pocono than any other driver I can remember.
7. Josef Newgarden nearly stole the show, stretching fuel but coming six laps short. I really wanted to see him and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing steal it. They needed a good day. It's ironic the race he starts on the last row he scores a top ten but when he starts in the top ten, a gremlin always ruins his day.
8. I've never seen a harder earned ninth place finish than the one Marco Andretti got today. If he doesn't get the early pit lane speed violation, he has a shot for the podium, if not the victory. He easily caught the tail end of the field after serving his penalty and had some good battles with Newgarden, Pagenaud and Graham Rahal on his way to the top ten. He needed to do better today to keep his championship hopes alive but Andretti never gave up and it paid off.
9. Now, Will Power. I didn't see the block. When I saw Power breeze through the pit lane I thought he missed his pit box because it was a lap or two after the likes of Andretti, Muñoz, Pagenaud and Briscoe stopped to make sure they could make it to the end of the race. I've been saying all year it seems like things are falling Power's way. Taps Pagenaud at Long Beach, finishes second. A pit lane violation in both Indianapolis races, top tens in both. Runs Pagenaud into the wall at Belle Isle, wins. Runs over Newgarden and gets a drive-through in Belle Isle 2, finishes second. Pit lane speeding late in the race at Texas, finishes second. Even when he has a poor Houston doubleheader, his gap to second in the championship remained the same.
He finally stubbed his toe one too many times and since Pocono was double points, it bit Power hard as he and Castroneves are tied for the championship lead with seven races to go. If Power doesn't win this title, it will most likely be on him.
10. Tony Kanaan finished eleventh but for the second consecutive year the Brazilian was in contention to win at Pocono before it slipped away. This one was on Kanaan and his team though. The stopped under the lone caution with 36 laps to go. Other than Montoya, Power and Bourdais, no one was getting close to 36 lap stints and of all the Chevrolet teams, Kanaan appeared to be the worst on fuel mileage. He was always one of the first Chevrolets to stop. Had they not tried to stretch fuel and stayed on strategy, he would have been battling Montoya for the victory.
11. Speaking of the lone caution, 159 laps under green flag conditions. This field is talented enough that maybe the turbo boost should be turned up for the ovals. Give these drivers more power. They want it, fans want it. Don't get me wrong, it was great seeing so much green flag action but if the drivers want it, give it to them. And seeing the track record IndyCar has on ovals in the DW12-era, the last thing Kanaan should have done was hope for another caution.
12. There are two things I hate talking about when it comes to motorsports: Schedule and crowds. Despite Pocono Raceway President Brandon Igdalsky's fears over attendance, I thought this race was better attended than last year's. I don't know know though. Here are two pictures of the stands from my seat. These were taken just before the first round of pit stops.
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| Looking Toward Turn One |
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| Looking Toward Turn Three |
I'll tell you what, this was a beautiful day. I am sure the walk up crowd helped but depending on a walk up crowd is a dangerous way to keep an event going.
13. The staff at Pocono Raceway is great. I've never had a problem and have been going to the track for a decade. Everyone I've encounter there is friendly and it gives off a positive energy felt around the facility.
With that said, for the second consecutive year, traffic was funneled from the track to Interstate 80, i.e. Standstill 2000. Even worst, unlike last year, you couldn't avoid it. You couldn't do a U-turn to avoid it if your life depended on it. Both lanes of state route 115, where the track is located, were heading the same direction, west to I-80. I had planned to go east on state route 115 I would have gotten to state highway 33 in a half hour tops. Instead it took an hour and fifteen minutes to get on state highway 33.
To be fair, I am sure there is a reason for why the track and the local police did but they got to work with us. I-80 is already backed up to Timbuktu with people travel back to New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island after the holiday weekend. It was the only negative part of the race weekend and is something that can be improved on.
14. Second consecutive year and second consecutive year of plenty good looking young men and women. IndyCar needs to take advantage of their young, attractive fan base. Also, lots of young women hanging around the area designated for Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe.
15. My mother pointed this out to me during the race, there are no food vendors walking up and down the aisle with hot dogs, water, etc. Especially with a race that goes nearly 400 miles caution free, this would be a great convenience to the fans.
16. I saw J.R. Hildebrand at the track with a pullover on that had a Preferred Freezer Services logo, his Indianapolis 500 sponsor, on it. Before I continue, let me say that I am very shy. I don't want to bother people and I didn't want to bother Hildebrand or ask him a bunch of questions. He was there, Preferred Freezer Services is a New Jersey-based company and hopefully they are interested in IndyCar going forward. Pocono would be their home race. Hopefully Hildebrand gets another race or two before 2014 is out.
17. What I reaffirmed this weekend: I need a smartphone.
18. What I reaffirmed part II: I need a better camera. Here are some of the better photos I took.
My mother really liked Charlie Kimball's Mint Green Machine. It stands out and is original unlike Aleshin and Briscoe's liveries which are nearly identical. Speaking of Aleshin and Briscoe, here are there cars with Pagenaud on the grid.
Two things at the track that I thought were ironic. First...
Maybe Goodyear should make a tire that the teams can rely on before they take the "#1 in tires in racing" line. Firestone in IndyCar and Michelin in sports cars have them beat. Maybe even Pirelli in Formula One but that's a toss up.
Second ironic photo is Ryan Hunter-Reay being pushed to the garage after his suspension problem. Instead of going to the garage entrance, they were directed to a short cut through victory lane. Of all the places for a wounded race car to go through on the way for repairs, victory lane is the least desired route.
I somehow got this photo of Montoya and Kanaan.
Hard to tell from this photo but this is Montoya taking the checkered flag. I was a little early but my camera is close to a decade old and struggles with high speeds. I am proud despite it not being the best photo ever.
Finally, Montoya on his way to victory lane with Kanaan, Muñoz, Castroneves, Briscoe and Aleshin in the background.
19. Going to wrap this up by saying I really hope Pocono is back next year and for many years to come. On to Iowa. Look for more posts on IndyCar and the world of motorsports during the weekend.
