Memorable Modern IndyCar Moments
I will admit this came at the IndyCar season finale in September and it was NBC Sports writer Daniel McFadin who brought it up on the eve of the Laguna Seca finale...
This has been on my mind lately:— Daniel McFadin (@danielmcfadin) September 19, 2019
Is this the most memorable modern #IndyCar moment that didn't take place at Indianapolis? https://t.co/r5v4ZttLwm
I think McFadin has a point.
First off, what does modern mean? What is modern IndyCar?
IndyCar has gone through multiple divorces and a lot of mess in the last 40 years. When talking about history or architecture or art, modernism is something that started at the end of the 19th and bridged into the 20th century. Motorsports didn't start until the late 19th/early 20th century. Not all of motorsports is modern.
Is 1979 modern? We could use the USAC/CART split as the delineation of modern IndyCar. The year 1979 is not that far away but is it too old to be considered modern? Forty years is not much but when you consider the boom of IndyCar coverage comes in the 1980s with ESPN and it continuing into the 1990s maybe modern IndyCar started later than 1979.
However, what is too late to be considered the start of modern IndyCar? The CART/IRL split is a delineation in time. Coverage and sponsorship is at an all-time high. Every race is packed and every driver was a somebody of sorts but 1996 cannot be consider the start of modern IndyCar when people grew up watching Nigel Mansell come to IndyCar, Al Unser and Rick Mears win fourth Indianapolis 500s, the rise of second generation stars like Michael Andretti and Al Unser, Jr. and the end of the careers for the aforementioned Unser, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, Tom Sneva and Emerson Fittipaldi.
Let's keep it to the last 40 years with 1979 being the start. It is the start of CART, the split from USAC, when teams start seeing a large influx of cash and 1979 is when we see the schedule evolve with an increase of road and street course races.
The problem with IndyCar is, outside of Indianapolis, there is not much lore, at least not much that is widely celebrated.
It is not like NASCAR where you could list the ten or 20 greatest moments and ten to 12 different tracks could be represented.
For Bristol, you have Dale Earnhardt spinning Terry Labonte twice. For Darlington you have Bill Elliott or Jeff Gordon winning the Winston Million.
For Talladega you have Dale Earnhardt's late charge in 2000 and any one of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s memorable victories.
For Daytona there are at least five Daytona 500s from the first in 1959 to 1976 to 1979 to 1998 to 2007 and then you have memorable July races like 1984 with Richard Petty's 200th victory or 2001 with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s emotional victory.
Atlanta has the 1992 finale, one of the greatest races in NASCAR history with Alain Kulwicki winning the title over Bill Elliott basically because he led one lap more and this was after Davey Allison was taken out while in command of the championship in what was also Richard Petty's final start and Jeff Gordon's first.
For Richmond, there is Dale Earnhardt taking out Darrell Waltrip.
For Watkins Glen you have the end of the 2012 race with Marcos Ambrose against Brad Keselowski.
For Rockingham you have the final race where Matt Kenseth beat Kasey Kahne in a photo finish.
For Kansas there is the Carl Edwards-Jimmie Johnson battle in 2008 when Edwards made a banzai move only for it not to pay off with Johnson taking the victory.
For Chicagoland last year's finish between Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson will be brought up for years to come.
NASCAR does a great job making lore and IndyCar does not do the same. That doesn't mean there aren't great IndyCar moments from Long Beach, Barber, Michigan, Pocono, Phoenix, Texas, St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Milwaukee, Chicagoland or Toronto. The difference is IndyCar's top moments at all those tracks are always immediately put behind something that occurred at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
However, the one moment that always stands out is Alex Zanardi's pass on Byran Herta at Laguna Seca in 1996.
Before getting into other finishes and racing moments we need to acknowledge when talking about memorable moments that memories are not always positive. Deaths are memorable. We remember the days Scott Brayton, Greg Moore, Dan Wheldon and Justin Wilson were lost. We remember the days Davey Hamilton, Kenny Bräck, Ryan Briscoe and Robert Wickens were hurt. We remember when we are frightened. We remember pain.
Memorable does not mean celebrated but the painful days are seared into our minds the same way the most tragic moments in human history become those days we remember where we were when it happened. We wish it wasn't the case but life has a way for landing haymakers.
Some moments are undermined for one way or another and perhaps wrongly so.
You know what is a memorable modern IndyCar moment that nobody talks about? Danica Patrick's one and only victory. It was an unexpected event occurring at the time you least expected it. It was a rain-delayed Motegi race and she won it one fuel-mileage. It was a stunner and it was the first victory for a female driver in IndyCar history.
At that time, it took over the late-night SportsCenter. People woke up to the news. Many missed it but many memories are those that are missed or not seen live and finding out in amazement afterward. The United States defeating the Soviet Union in the Miracle on Ice was not live on television. The United States defeating England 1-0 in the 1950 World Cup was not broadcasted and most people thought the newspaper headline was a misprint.
Danica Patrick's victory is not the Miracle on Ice or even that United States upset over England but it does share some of the same qualities.
Modern IndyCar, especially hyper-modern IndyCar has kind of been dismissed. During the years of the split, no one was really happy and the moments were not as celebrated. People were focused on what IndyCar wasn't to take any pride in what IndyCar was producing at the time.
You may not remember the 2007 IRL season finale from Chicagoland but in the closing laps the two drivers battling for the championship were the only two cars on the lead lap coming to a restart with three laps to go and neither driver sure they could make it on fuel. It is NASCAR's wet dream for a championship decider but one that NASCAR has failed to create despite the increasingly contrived systems the series uses to decide the championship. Scott Dixon ran out of fuel in turn four of the final lap and Dario Franchitti made the pass and won the championship
If the 2007 finale were to repeat in 2020 I believe people would be lapping it up as one of the greatest championship finishes in motorsports history and not just IndyCar history.
Why does Zanardi's pass stand out amongst the thousands of other moments in IndyCar history not to happen at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
Because it is folklore that is non-fiction. Time plays a role and with each passing second Zanardi's legacy becomes more mythical in a nature. Being a great race car driver is one thing but to lose both legs, nearly bleed to death, survive, return to a race car at a competitive level and then to become a Paralympic gold medalist in hand-cycling is beyond any imaginable storyline.
Take time, Zanardi's legend and then add the location, one of the most absurd corners in motorsports in Laguna Seca's corkscrew and a pass that used every inch of asphalt, some of the dirt and avoiding a barrier on exit. It was a man that had basically lost all control but came out of a situation clean and turned it into a victory and that is what makes it the pinnacle for memorable IndyCar moments.
What about the other moments? What about what will happen next? How do we give those moments their due?
It is the simple act of remembering and regularly remembering. I think too often IndyCar and the other parties involved in the series defer to Indianapolis 500 moments to celebrate because it is easy and it is the lowest common denominator. Casual fans know the Indianapolis 500 and remember some of these Indianapolis 500s. When celebrating IndyCar it is easy to play the hits. However, we should do more.
Each year, when listening to a practice session or a qualifying session on the radio, the IndyCar Radio Network will play its intro or outro and it is a compilation of Indianapolis 500 calls. That is nice but why limit it? Why have that for every race? IndyCar has been going to Long Beach, Toronto and Mid-Ohio for more than 30 years. IndyCar has been going to Road America, Texas, Laguna Seca, Belle Isle and Portland for more than 20 years. All these races have enough moments, enough calls to get their own dedicated intro and outro. I am sure the broadcast lives somewhere for most of these races. Each race should be a celebration of that race's past, not another chance to fawn over the glory of the Indianapolis 500.
Remembering takes work. It takes time to put together those packages but it is worth it and it should be done.
IndyCar has a vast history outside of every May for more than 100 years. Every race has its own history and the series should celebrate the history of each location it visits.
Champions From the Weekend
Mercedes-AMG clinched the World Constructors' Championship after scoring 41 points at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The #6 Acura Team Penske of Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya won the IMSA Prototype championship with a fourth place finish at Petit Le Mans.
Matt McMurry won the LMP2 championship simply by starting Petit Le Mans in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports.
The #912 Porsche of Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor won the GT Le Mans championship with a fifth place finish at Petit Le Mans.
The #86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura of Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher won the GT Daytona championship simply by starting Petit Le Mans.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Mercedes-AMG and the IMSA champions but did you know...
Valtteri Bottas won the Japanese Grand Prix, his third victory of the season and his first since Azerbaijan.
Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Prémat won the 62nd Bathurst 1000. It is the first Bathurst 1000 victory for both McLaughlin and Prémat. It is McLaughlin's 18th victory of the season.
The #31 Action Express Racing Cadillac of Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani and Eric Curran won Petit Le Mans. LMP2 class. The #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra won the GTLM class. It is Risi Competizione's first IMSA victory since the 2016 Petit Le Mans. The #96 Turner Motorsport BMW of Bill Auberlen, Robby Foley and Dillon Machavern won the GTD class. It is Auberlen's 60th IMSA victory, tying him with Scott Pruett for the all-time record.
Spencer Boyd won the NASCAR Truck race from Talladega after Johnny Sauter was penalized for blocking Riley Herbst below the yellow line coming to the checkered flag. It is Boyd's first career victory.
Álvaro Bautista won the first World Superbike race from Argentina with Jonathan Rea taking the final two races from the weekend. Jules Cluzel won the World Supersport race, his third victory of the season.
Coming Up This Weekend
MotoGP will be at Motegi.
NASCAR ends its second round at Kansas.
The Blancpain GT World Challenge America season concludes in Las Vegas.
