The halfway point of 2022 is here. Six months down, six month remain and the motorsports season is just picking up.
Every championship is taking shape and the next few weeks will be critical in determining who will be competing silverware and who will be hoping for a better shot next year.
Before we can worry about the championships, let's consider what was seen this month, and some of that was done in person.
LED Necessity
After attending the Belle Isle weekend and seeing IMSA and IndyCar race in consecutive days, I can say IndyCar must find a way to bring the LED panels back to the cars.
I am not one of these LED panels obsessives, who believe it is the greatest sin in the world IndyCar took them away. I understood why IndyCar removed them because they were causing electric issues with the cars. We can't have cars being knocked out of the races because the LED panel caused the electrical system to short circuit. IndyCar would never hear the end of it if the Indianapolis 500 lead slowed due to a glitch related to the LED panel. IndyCar was smart to make the decision it did over three years ago.
However, I am not sure there has been a more fan-friendly item put on a race car than the LED panel. Especially at a road/street course where you could be seated without any video broad in eye sight or out of ear shot of a speaker with the race broadcast, the LED panel keeps you completely informed without mental gymnastics to figure out the running order. It prevents the attendee from losing track of the race and possibly following the wrong car that they think is the leader or in contention for the lead.
The one issue with the LED panel IndyCar had been the series wanted it to have all these features. Become the flag of the driver's nationality, sponsors, etc. Keep. It. Simple. Stupid.
All a viewer needs is position in the race, and pit stop time during pit stops. We don't need it to light up into the Stars & Stripes or the Union Jack or the Tricolour. Let us know who is leading, the rest of the running order and a pit stop time.
Again, not an LED obsessive, but I think IndyCar looks pretty bad for having the LED panels for a nearly five-year period and then to not have them for the last three years. It is like if the NBA decided to take the shot clock down from the top of the backboard. That would significantly change the viewing experience in the arena and on television.
I hate to be blunt but if the new car, whenever that arrives, does not have LED panels, it will be a massive failure for the series.
No pressure, guys! Have fun!
Castroneves to Daytona
With Hélio Castroneves' victory in the Superstar Racing Experience season opener at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, a deal unbeknownst to nearly everyone came to light in the post-race interview.
SRX CEO Don Hawk had made a deal with Castroneves that if Castroneves won an SRX main event this season, Hawk would get Castroneves an entry for the Daytona 500.
Castroneves won the season opener and was immediately looking to get his reward in victory lane that Saturday night in the Florida Panhandle.
The good news is Hawk is working on it, and it sounds like many are interested in Castroneves having a ride.
We have heard many similar deals before, or heard many other top drivers say they would love to drive in a certain race only for it never to happen. How many times did we hear Tony Stewart was looking to return to the Indianapolis 500 or how many times did we hear Jeff Gordon say he wanted to run the 24 Hours of Le Mans? Neither have happened.
There is a lot of time between now and February 2023, and it comes down to sponsorship. Someone has to fund this ride and I don't think Hawk is doing it out of his own pocket. I know Castroneves isn't going to pay for this, but this is the type of entry we should see at an event such as the Daytona 500 each year.
Castroneves is one of the top IndyCar drivers of his generation. He has since added a sports car championship and two 24 Hours of Daytona victories. The Daytona 500 has a long history of attracting top talent from other forms of motorsports.
Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt each won the race.
The Daytona 500 has drawn one-off entries from Indianapolis 500 winners: Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Unser, Al Unser, Al Unser, Jr. Parnelli Jones, Gordon Johncock, Tom Sneva, Troy Ruttman...
Grand prix winners: Dan Gurney, Innes Ireland, Pedro Rodríguez...
Sprint car champions: Sammy Swindell, Steve Kinser, and...
Sports car champions: Al Holbert, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Christian Fittipaldi, Jo Schlesser, David Hobbs, Vic Elford, Mark Donohue, Boris Said, Dorsey Schroeder.
Big races draw big names. Jacques Villeneuve returned this year nearly 15 years after missing the Daytona 500 just to get in the field and say he did.
In Castroneves' case, it is a chance for history, to join Andretti and Foyt as the only drivers to win both the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500, but it is also a chance to join this list of drivers just to start the race. He is more than worthy of it and this should be a near yearly thing. Scott Dixon should have made a Daytona 500 start by now. The same could be said for Will Power. Josef Newgarden is a part of that group now. Fernando Alonso toyed with it but he should absolutely give it a go. Toyota should bring Kamui Kobayashi to the event. There is plenty of time left in the Formula One offseason for Daniel Ricciardo to run Daytona. Chevrolet should get Jordan Taylor and Nick Tandy entries.
The restrictor plate nature of the race doesn't allow driver talent to standout above others, but it is still a major race and a thrill to participate in. It is unlike the other great races in the world from how the race unfolds to how the starting grid is set.
I hope Castroneves gets a shot at it and in a good car. I am not sure he would be able to snag a Chartered entry and have to avoid qualifying, but he deserves at least something competitive.
Ben Keating: Le Mans Winner
There were a lot of popular winners at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year, but Ben Keating probably earned the most praise.
Winning in GTE-Am with Henrique Chaves and Marco Sørensen in the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin, Keating had been on the top step of the podium three years ago, but when his Ford GT found to exceed the permitted fuel capacity, the victory was stripped. It was a tough break for Keating, who has been nothing but an outstanding sportsman. His passion for driving and pushing himself is admirable, jumping between GT cars and prototypes and sometimes doing it in the same race. He is clearly a man making the most of abilities.
As hard as a driver tries, you cannot will a Le Mans victory. In a pro-am class it is likely even harder. There are more variables and the class is larger. Keating has had good drivers, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Felipe Fraga, Ricky Taylor and Luca Stolz to name a few. This year Chaves and Sørensen were two entirely new co-drivers. Sørensen is a world champion, but Chaves was a rather unknown, competing on his grandest stage of his career. None of the three put a wheel wrong. This time the victory stood for Keating and company.
How does Keating back it up? He won the 6 Hours of the Glen two weeks later in the LMP2 class and he already won the 12 Hours of Sebring in the LMP2 class earlier this year. For the near future, Keating will go for the Endurance Trophy for GTE Am Drivers in the FIA World Endurance Championship, but I wouldn't be surprised if Keating has his sights on something bigger, perhaps an LMDh entry and cracks at overall triumphs in sports cars greatest races. Either way, it is a pleasure to watch and Keating is one who makes this sport more enjoyable.
July Preview
Somehow July is here. I thought May went by quickly. June was a blink.
There really isn't one standout event in July. There is the Spa 24 Hours at the end of the month, but it doesn't quite grab the motorsport world's attention like some other events.
Other than MotoGP, everyone will be competing. There will be a notable debut later this month.
At the WEC Monza round on July 10, the Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar will contest its first race. Paul di Resta, Mikel Jensen and Jean-Éric Vergne will drive the #93 Peugeot while Loïc Duval, Gustavo Menezes and James Rossiter will be in the #94 Peugeot.
This will be Peugeot's first appearance in the top level of sports car racing since 2011. The last time Peugeot competed was the 6 Hours of Zhuhai, the final round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup ever, as WEC debuted the following year. Peugeot went 1-2 in that race was Sébastien Bourdais and Anthony Davidson taking the victory ahead of Franck Montagny and Stéphane Sarrazin.
There were nine LMP1 entries in that Zhuhai race, including two Audi R18s, a Lola-Toyota for Rebellion Racing, two OAK Racing Pescarolo 01-Judds, a Lola-Aston Martin and a Courage-Oreca-YGK Hybrid that the Japanese Tokai University fielded, the only hybrid entered in that race.
Mika Häikkinen competed in that race driving a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. Rossiter was driving a Lotus Evora in the GTE Pro class with David Heinemeier Hansson and Johnny Mowlem. There was one Le Mans Prototype Challenge Oreca FLM09 in the race. Christian Ried won in GTE-Am and Ried is the only driver who has competed in every WEC race since the inception of the series.
Other events of note in July:
The aforementioned Spa 24 Hours.
Formula E has five races between Marrakesh, Brooklyn and London.
IndyCar has five races between Mid-Ohio, Toronto, Iowa and the IMS road course.
Formula One has four races, including a sprint round in Austria.
Supercars will be in Townsville and Taliem Bend.
The Norisring is back in July for the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.
NASCAR will visit five tracks for the one and only time this month.
Superstars Racing Experience will close out its season with four races. The final two will be dirt races.
