Will Power won a race for a 13th consecutive season, as lightning and rain ended the ABC Supply 500 after 320 miles. There was no fairy tale ending in Bristol but there was plenty of carnage. There was a first-time winner in Japan. James Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi are pairing to contest the Bathurst 1000 in a wild card entry for Walkinshaw Andretti United. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
Final Thoughts on Pocono
I have to admit I had a lot on my mind heading to Pocono this year. I always have a lot on my mind leading up to this weekend.
Every year I went to Pocono came with a tinge of apprehension because there is no other way to feel as a IndyCar fan at a venue that isn't Indianapolis, Long Beach, Road America, Barber, Mid-Ohio or St. Petersburg.
As much as I love heading to the racetrack, wandering aimlessly around the garage, snapping photographs at random intervals, trying to stay out of the way but still peek over the shoulders crew members and officials; as much as I enjoyed the zooming cars and trying to keep track of pit strategy in my head, silently counting laps in my head and projecting when each car would next stop, as much as I love all of it there was always a great pain in the days leading up to the event and in the drive back and the days following until the schedule for the following year is released.
In 2015, I wrote about my fears heading into a race with no guaranteed future. Of course those words had a haunting, unintentional foreshadowing of what would proceed that afternoon. While the race has continued and we have gotten many other pleasing moments from Pocono in the years since, here we are again and instead of writing it all before the cars unloaded at the racetrack I have decided to have one post-race gathering of everything that has been on mind with an uncertain future.
This was always going to be a long look at Pocono and IndyCar before the race and after yesterday, it takes a slightly different tour than I originally anticipated.
The Morning After:
It is good to have time to think and over 12 hours and a sunrise later, it is time to take another look at yesterday's race.
I still think there are improvements that can be made, especially with catchfences. I still agree with Will Power in that these incidents could have happened anywhere and it just happens to be at Pocono. I think IndyCar and Pocono should work to make things safer and not walk away and say it is too dangerous.
There was something else Power said in the post-race press conference that caught my attention and that is Power said attendance was up 15% each year at Pocono. I don't have any evidence that is true but there is part of me that thinks this was Power being privy to information because of his ties to Roger Penske and he overheard this in a conversation with people in the know. It could be a lie but this could also be the innocence of Power coming out and this was his biggest take away from a private conversation and this is the part he decided to share with us.
If this 15% increase is true this puts IndyCar in a tough predicament because not many other tracks are up 15%. Iowa isn't up 15%. Texas isn't up 15% a year. When few venues are moving in the right direction, can IndyCar walk away from one that is trending upward? On top of that, Pocono wants IndyCar back. Not many places want IndyCar. This isn't a case of a racetrack seeing the trends and despite the increases deciding to move on from IndyCar. Pocono has said all the right things.
There may be a good reason why IndyCar has not come to terms with Pocono. Pocono might be asking for no sanctioning fee. The series cannot give races away for free but if IndyCar is not negotiating with Pocono because the series wants to move on that is a befuddling and bold decision. The series is walking from a racetrack where things seem to be going in the right direction. On paper, no series would ever do that. More than attendance is involved in the decision making process.
I still believe IndyCar and Pocono have to work with each other, not only because the track wants IndyCar but because if we truly want an improvement in catchfencing the only way that will occur is if the series works with a racetrack for improvements and why not have Pocono Raceway be that place, the base for this improvement? Improvements have to start somewhere and we should want Pocono to be where catchfencing improvements begin, the same way the early prototypes of the SAFER barrier were implemented at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The SAFER barrier started at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and then spread across the country. We should want the same to be true for any catchfencing evolution and we should use the events of the last two years to push Pocono Raceway to be where the evolution begins.
The Oval Cycle:
There has been a pattern in IndyCar for close to a decade now when it comes to ovals that are not Indianapolis, Texas or Iowa.
1.) An oval venue is announced and everyone gets excited for it and the potential it brings.
2.) Oval race occurs and regardless of what happens on the racetrack everyone brings up the crowd.
3.) Venue struggles to draw a crowd to break even.
4.) People sour on the venue and wonder why things are not clicking.
5.) Oval venue is coming to the end of the contract with nothing pointing to a new deal being signed.
6.) While it appears one oval venue will be lost, have no fear because IndyCar is in talks with another oval venue and a deal is imminent so if the current oval that is struggling falls off there is another ready to step in and take its place and everyone is excited for the new venue.
7.) Repeat.
It is easy to bust IndyCar's ball when it comes to ovals and the Merry-Go-Round the series finds itself on but with Pocono appears to be heading for the exit and Richmond being the venue linked to a return to the calendar I have to ask why does anyone think Richmond will be different?
Let's really consider this:
Milwaukee returned in 2010, there was excitement to be back after a year away, the venue struggled, it tried many different dates, it somehow made it to 2015 and then was gone.
Loudon returned in 2011, there was excitement to be back after over a decade away, the venue struggled in year one, it ended with one of the more embarrassing moments in IndyCar history and it did not come back for 2012.
Las Vegas returned in 2011, there was excitement to be back after over a decade away and this was supposed to be the new home for the IndyCar finale, the free ticket idea was not as successful as people thought, Dan Wheldon was killed, both sides pointed fingers at one another and it did not come back for 2012.
Fontana returned in 2012, there was excitement to be back after nearly a decade away and this was supposed to be the new home for the IndyCar finale, year one was good, year two was better but it started late and ended late, the race moved back into summer, the race was held on a Saturday afternoon in late-June, the crowd was dismal and it was gone after 2015.
Phoenix returned in 2016, there was excitement to be back after a decade away, the venue struggled, the races struggled with single-file action on the track, it completed its three-year contract and then was gone.
Gateway returned in 2017, there was excitement and the crowd has been fantastic in its first two years back but it is still early. We have seen Iowa shrink in the decade since it was first added to the schedule. What is to say the same will not happen to Gateway?
Pocono returned in 2013, there was excitement to be back, it had a good year one, struggled in year two and many thought the July 4th weekend scared people away due to traffic in the area, the race moved to late-August, traffic was much better, the races were really good, one year was rained out to a Monday, there have been signs of growth, each year felt a little bit better but it appears at the end of the second contract with IndyCar the series is ready to move on even after encouraging attendance the last few years.
Don't get me wrong, I am happy Pocono made it to seven years but we have to wonder if IndyCar can live on three ovals sticking around annually and then having another two or three ovals rotate with tracks only staying for a range of three to seven seasons.
Why do people think Richmond will somehow be much greater than Pocono? Keep in mind that if crowd size is the problem, it appears every oval race outside of Indianapolis and Gateway only gets about 20,000 people. That is just what IndyCar draws. In Richmond's heyday for IndyCar it got about 40,000 people. Richmond's capacity is only about 60,000 now after years of downsizing and it can barely fill that for its NASCAR Cup races. Why should we expect anymore than 20,000 to go to Richmond?
Even a great crowd at Richmond might only be 30,000 to 35,000 people and that is still only be half-full. People are still going to look at the crowd and feel disappointed. I kind of want to set the bar low now so no one heads into with unrealistic expectations.
Maybe IndyCar can make this work and it can constantly rotate oval venues. I think a lot of people would not like that and people would argue that is not an effective way to establishing a fan base but that is a more likely to happen then IndyCar signing three or four tracks to ten-year deals and lock IndyCar in at a few ovals for the next decade.
Rotating might not be a bad thing. Supercross has its annual venues but it also has some venues that are on the schedule for a season, gone the next and then back for another three or four years. That could work for IndyCar. If you make an IndyCar race a one-off, a special event then maybe people will go. Some of these races might be Gateway and a track will work for a longer deal. Other tracks will have its one or two years, not draw crowds that suggests it has to have IndyCar annually but would benefit from having IndyCar every four or five years.
There are plenty of venues out there: Michigan, Fontana, Richmond, Loudon, Kentucky, Chicagoland, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Darlington, Homestead, Memphis, Kansas, Atlanta, hell even throw Bristol in there.
That is 16 venues that could possibly host IndyCar, add in Pocono and you could have 17 venues where IndyCar rotates, some yearly, others in three to five year intervals, some might stick around for 15 to 20 years if we are lucky and I don't think that is a bad thing. IndyCar could make it work. It would keep the schedule fresh each year, which wouldn't be a bad thing.
I think IndyCar is still in a place of trying to figure out what is the right choice of action when it comes to ovals. I don't think oval races, outside of the Indianapolis 500, are going to go away entirely. The series sees there is a benefit to having five or six of them but do those five or six venues have to dedicated surefire successes on the schedule or could two or three of those venues be rotating wild cards with some being around for a year, others being around for four or five years but there always being ovals stepping up and filling the gap when one is going to take a break?
Only time will tell.
What Went Wrong?
I don't know if anything went wrong. It is a mixture of things.
I look at how Pocono sold tickets, the traditional general admission and then tiered pricing for different seats with paddock passes as an add-on, and compare it to Road America, where every ticket is general admission and paddock access is included, and I wonder if Road America's model is what would work for other IndyCar venues.
There isn't enough of a demand to charge seats at different prices. The seats I got each year were $75 a piece and the paddock pass was an additional $20. I would argue it might be better if every seat was general admission with paddock access included and all tickets were $50 or $60. One ticket gets you everything. The suites and covered seats could be sold at a higher price point but the rest of it could be up for grabs.
Moving away from tickets and thinking about Pennsylvania, there are a lot of race fans in Pennsylvania. We talk about local short tracks all the time but I feel like any major racetrack should visit these local short tracks twice a month, bring a tent and sell tickets there. Bring an IndyCar driver or two to these short tracks and have them talk to people and just be casual. If Pocono hit a handful of these tracks, maybe it would have sold an additional 5,000 tickets. That goes a long way.
There is also the fact that Pocono is two hours away from New York City and it is two hours away from Philadelphia. When you factor that over 20,000,000 people live within 100 miles of Pocono Raceway you don't have to draw a large portion of that population to have a successful event. We are talking about drawing a quarter of percent would be 50,000 people. If you cannot get a quarter of a percent of 20,000,000 people to come out it says a lot about the interest of the people and relevance of the series.
When it came to the weekend, Pocono had a lot of down time. Outside of two years, Indy Lights was not present at the track. I get Indy Lights has a prerogative and it doesn't want to run many ovals but when you look at the Freedom 100, why wouldn't Indy Lights run Pocono? Indy Lights gets one televised race a year. An Indy Lights race at Pocono might have been too good not to be on television. The historic cars were nice to have at Pocono but even with those there was plenty of gaps in the schedule.
The good news is, as stated above, attendance reportedly was on the rise each year and maybe Pocono was on the right track. We will only know if the series returns for 2020 and beyond.
The Future:
It is not official that Pocono will not be back in 2020 and if Pocono is back in 2020 I will be there but let's not count our chickens before the eggs hatch.
The track has thrown out that it would be open to hosting a IndyCar race once every three years, similar to something I mentioned above. My biggest concern with this kind of deal is there is no long term commitment, either side can walk away out of the blue, and how can Pocono reserve a date when it isn't on the schedule for two consecutive seasons?
Let's take this late-August date? Is IndyCar going to leave this weekend open for two years waiting for Pocono to return? What happens if another track approaches IndyCar and says its best date would be late-August? I would not blame IndyCar if it gave another track that date because it committed for multiple years and consecutive years.
The late-August date has been kind to Pocono. The weather has been much more favorable compared to the July 4th weekend. There was the rain out and this year's race was rain-shortened, though if that red flag doesn't happen all 500 miles likely would have been completed. It is positioned late in the season and it is a key factor in the championship picture. There is something great about seeing an IndyCar stretch its legs and run at full song. I would hate IndyCar to lose that.
Looking at IndyCar and the fan base it is safe to say it is a Midwest series and maybe the series should embrace that. When you see the success of Mid-Ohio, Road America and Gateway it might make sense for the series to add Kentucky and Chicagoland, two places where Hoosiers and Buckeyes will drive and attend. That is fine with me. Plenty of people are still going to watch on television. I would still watch. It would suck not to have a race in the Northeast and it is not like the series is trying to add five or six Northeast races. It just has to make one race successful. If IndyCar cannot make one race successful that is a blow to the series but if staying in the Midwest means a few more better attended races and also saves the teams some money in travel expenses then the series would be foolish not to do it.
I hope IndyCar and Pocono work something out. I hope we keep the other 500-mile race on the schedule. This is biased because Pocono is a home event for me. It is in my neck of the woods. I get to sleep in my own bed. There are not many other venues IndyCar can go to where I get to stay home. It was nice to have a race effectively in my backyard and I hope it remains for many years to come. If it is time to move on then it is time to move on. Pocono will be missed.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Will Power but did you know...
Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup race from Bristol, his fourth victory of the season. Tyler Reddick won Grand National Series race, his fourth victory of the season. Brett Moffitt won the Truck race, his third victory of the season.
Ryō Hirakawa won the Super Formula race from Motegi, his first career victory Super Formula victory.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar has its final oval race and its final night race of 2019 from Gateway.
MotoGP hopes to race at Silverstone.
Suzuka hosts the penultimate round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge season, a ten-hour race.
IMSA has another GT-only race at Virginia International Raceway.
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters returns to Germany and will be at Lausitz.
World Rally Championship returns to Germany for Rallye Deutschland.
Supercars has its second race weekend in Tailem Bend.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
Showing posts with label Pocono. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pocono. Show all posts
Monday, August 19, 2019
Sunday, August 18, 2019
First Impressions: Pocono 2019
1. There are a lot to get to and we are going to start with the race first and the results and then get into the deep end at the end.
Will Power has a tendency for pulling races out when it doesn't seem to be his day. When he made his first pit stop after the first caution, the only one of the front-runners to come in, it felt like, oh well, another behind the eight ball for Power. Then the second caution fell in his favor and he was up to second and from there he was showing the most muscle. On that final pass for the lead on Scott Dixon, Power put the hammer down and was gone and maybe Dixon had more to play with and he was willing to let Power push it and potentially having to make a stop before Dixon but in a season where Power has had plenty of misfortune, his best day comes in the rain.
Nobody likes a rain-shortened race, it is incomplete in a way but I think if this race ran the final 72 laps Power would likely have still come out on top.
Will Power has a tendency for pulling races out when it doesn't seem to be his day. When he made his first pit stop after the first caution, the only one of the front-runners to come in, it felt like, oh well, another behind the eight ball for Power. Then the second caution fell in his favor and he was up to second and from there he was showing the most muscle. On that final pass for the lead on Scott Dixon, Power put the hammer down and was gone and maybe Dixon had more to play with and he was willing to let Power push it and potentially having to make a stop before Dixon but in a season where Power has had plenty of misfortune, his best day comes in the rain.
Nobody likes a rain-shortened race, it is incomplete in a way but I think if this race ran the final 72 laps Power would likely have still come out on top.
2. This could be a missed opportunity for Scott Dixon, as he could have won his second consecutive race and he left ten points on the table but it is still a respectable result and he has narrowed the deficit in the championship to 52 points. It is a manageable gap for Dixon. After the first lap caution, when all Penske entries are running 1-2-3 and Dixon was fourth it felt like Dixon was going to be in the mix. This wasn't going to be a race where the Penske drivers ran away with it and Dixon would drop back. Sure enough, Dixon was up at the front for the entire race and he has four consecutive podium finishes heading into the final three races.
3. We will breakdown Simon Pagenaud's start later but in another 500-mile race he was at the front. Pagenaud was not as dominant as he was in the Indianapolis 500 and when green flag runs got longer it seemed like that is where Pagenaud lost ground. Once again, we will not know how fuel mileage would have decided this race but I think the Chevrolets caught a slight break in this one and when five Hondas are taken out immediately that also helps.
4. It appears Santino Ferrucci was the darling on the day and he finished fourth again on an oval. Ferrucci has three top ten finishes in four oval starts. He hasn't put a wheel wrong this season. That is what is going to earn him rookie of the year. While every other rookie finds a way to stub a toe or two, Ferrucci has kept it clean. Don't get me wrong, there is part of me that thinks this is one good year and he has been fortunate not to face much adversity this season. We saw how he broke down in Formula Two. These results do not cancel out his previous behavior and true change has only occurred when faced with the same scenario a melt down does not happen a second time.
5. Josef Newgarden is fortunate to be fifth. This felt like a day where Newgarden could have really taken control of the championship and he didn't. This kind of feels like after Pocono in 2015 when Juan Pablo Montoya was third in the race but he could have finished first or second and just one position would have given Montoya the title. I think Newgarden, and even Ferrucci, benefitted from the likes of Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe, Takuma Sato and Felix Rosenqvist being out at the start. It would have been an entirely different race had those five not been eliminated before completing a lap. This could have been a worse day for Newgarden than it turned out to be.
6. Outside of the top five, I do not have a strong feel on the rest of the results. Ed Carpenter was sixth and he seemed to get better as the race went along. This was a good day for him.
7. Sébastien Bourdais spent the entire day in the top ten but could not challenge the front runners and I guess seventh is right for him.
8. Tony Kanaan gets an eighth place finish and I am not sure how. At no point did it seem like Kanaan was picking off one driver at a time and was on the move forward. It is nice that he got a good result and I wish qualifying had taken place and Kanaan been given the opportunity to start further up the grid because he might have been competitive.
9. Graham Rahal gets another top ten finish but ninth is a tad disappointing. On a day when two front runners, a Ganassi car and a teammate were taken out, I felt like this could have been Rahal's day to compete for a podium finish and possibly even a victory. The RLLR cars were strong in the Indianapolis 500 and Rahal was fighting for a top five before his accident with Bourdais in that race. Rahal has eight consecutive top ten finishes but I bet he wants more.
10. Charlie Kimball got a top ten finish. Good for Charlie Kimball. Conor Daly was 11th. Good for Conor Daly. Good for the entire Carlin organization.
11. Quickly through the rest of the field: Marcus Ericsson looked good at the start and then dropped like a rock. I guess finishing on the lead lap in your first Pocono start is a minor success. Zach Veach and Matheus Leist did nothing. Marco Andretti's rough oval results continue. Colton Herta had another spin when looking good. Spencer Pigot threw away a good opportunity.
12. This is where it gets messy and we will start with the start.
How Simon Pagenaud can be second in line long before the start/finish line, directly behind Josef Newgarden who started first, when Pagenaud was starting fourth and there be no call for a jumped start then I don't know what is a jumped start.
IndyCar has to get its starts in order. How many races have cars single-file before the line, cars three-wide before the line and it looks nothing like chaos? On top of that, the entire grid is covered by a napkin coming to the start and with all these cars bunched up the leader is toying with the throttle and stacking the field up.
I worry that IndyCar is too focused about action and, at a place like Pocono, I worry IndyCar is too focused in re-creating seven-wide at every possible opportunity that it hurts the actual start. I think the starting grid, especially at an oval, should be spread out a little bit. Using Pocono as the example, when the leader is at the start/finish line, taking the green flag for the I think the rear of the field should still be in turn three. For starters, it would decrease the possibility of having eight cars pile up at the start but it would also allow for some margin for error. Last year we have Graham Rahal run into the back of Spencer Pigot. These cars need some room to breathe at the start of a 500-mile race.
The cars also have to stay in line. No more of second place falling in behind the pole-sitter, no more of single-file. I am not sure if it a case of IndyCar needing rules or needing to enforce its rules. The starts need to be cleaner, especially at ovals but it is also true for road and street courses. The standard has to be higher. It was not that long ago IndyCar would have waved off that start and it should have today. The standard has to be higher and that leads us to the second point of the start.
How Simon Pagenaud can be second in line long before the start/finish line, directly behind Josef Newgarden who started first, when Pagenaud was starting fourth and there be no call for a jumped start then I don't know what is a jumped start.
IndyCar has to get its starts in order. How many races have cars single-file before the line, cars three-wide before the line and it looks nothing like chaos? On top of that, the entire grid is covered by a napkin coming to the start and with all these cars bunched up the leader is toying with the throttle and stacking the field up.
I worry that IndyCar is too focused about action and, at a place like Pocono, I worry IndyCar is too focused in re-creating seven-wide at every possible opportunity that it hurts the actual start. I think the starting grid, especially at an oval, should be spread out a little bit. Using Pocono as the example, when the leader is at the start/finish line, taking the green flag for the I think the rear of the field should still be in turn three. For starters, it would decrease the possibility of having eight cars pile up at the start but it would also allow for some margin for error. Last year we have Graham Rahal run into the back of Spencer Pigot. These cars need some room to breathe at the start of a 500-mile race.
The cars also have to stay in line. No more of second place falling in behind the pole-sitter, no more of single-file. I am not sure if it a case of IndyCar needing rules or needing to enforce its rules. The starts need to be cleaner, especially at ovals but it is also true for road and street courses. The standard has to be higher. It was not that long ago IndyCar would have waved off that start and it should have today. The standard has to be higher and that leads us to the second point of the start.
13. Where do we start with this accident, other than it wonderful that no one was seriously injured?
I have to break this down intricately because it is no straightforward and it requires a lot of thought.
It was a bit of déjà vu to have another accident in turn two almost immediately with a car grazing the catchfence and an ensuring lengthy red flag.
It did not take long for people to say IndyCar should not race at Pocono due to the danger. Of course, with any action there is an equal and opposite reaction and saying IndyCar should leave Pocono brought out just as large of a crowd defending the race's existence.
When it comes to danger there are many things to take into consideration. Do people not want to race at Pocono because the track itself is dangerous? Let's think for a second and realize Pocono is not a dangerous racetrack. The track is not falling apart. The walls are not outdated that could potentially fall over if a car made contact with it. The track does not have potholes that are a hazard. The track is up to standard.
There are many combinations that lead to the situations we have seen at Pocono. It is part track, it is par car and it is part driver.
When you are driving at 220 MPH, bad things are going to happen. You cannot completely avoid injury. If you have an accident at 220 MPH, there is a chance a driver is going to get hurt. That is just common sense the same way that injuries are possible when two football players or hockey players collide at full speed. Something is going to happen and somebody might get hurt.
Pocono is a 2.5-mile oval with long straightaway. Those high speeds are bound to happen but, while the track lends itself to speed, the car itself is capable of reaching those speeds. Is Pocono dangerous or is Pocono dangerous because of the speed? In that case, there are a handful of other circuits IndyCar goes those where those speeds are achieved. The difference is we have been fortunate not to have these types of accidents at Indianapolis or Texas. That doesn't mean these accidents will never occur at Indianapolis or Texas. Texas used to have this same linger feeling that many carried into Pocono.
Texas severely altered the careers of Davey Hamilton and Kenny Bräck but it has been a while since someone has been seriously injured at that track. It was only three years ago Josef Newgarden was hurt at Texas but he returned to the car immediately. Maybe we would feel differently if Newgarden had been hurt worse than he was that day but nobody talks about Texas the way Pocono has been talked about over the last few years.
The only push back I will give to the Pocono is too dangerous crowd is why not make it safer? It seems like the only answer for some is leave Pocono but that is in a sense giving up, as if nothing can be done and I don't think IndyCar or any series should accept that concession. In a series that has worked tirelessly to make the cars safer and it will continue into 2020 with the introduction of the aeroscreen, why are we not doing the same or demanding the same when it comes to the racetracks? When faced with this adversity the leading option should not be give up but rather evolve and improve.
There is one constant variable when it comes to Pocono, Texas, Indianapolis and mostly every racetrack where we have seen these big accidents, especially the ones that have hurt drivers, and that is the catchfence. Every year we seem to have this conversation and nothing has been done about it. Nothing was done after Hamilton and Bräck's accidents. Nothing was done after Ryan Briscoe's accident at Chicagoland. Nothing was done after Dan Wheldon's accident at Las Vegas. Nothing was done after Robert Wickens' accident last year. Why has nothing been done?
Once again, cars are going 220 MPH, not every injury can be prevent nor should we expect no injury to ever occur but if we are doing all we can to make sure the cars are safe, why aren't we doing the same at racetracks? Every year we talk about the outdated nature of catchfences and nothing is done. There has been no evolution introduced. Pocono could extend the wall around two miles of the 2.5-mile oval and that would solve part of the solution. We wouldn't have to worry about cars being shredded to pieces and the injuries that could come with that. That is going to cost money but nothing is cheap. If the series and the teams are willing to absorb extra costs for safety then the tracks have to do the same. Safety is an all hands on deck effort. Everyone has to be involved and in a way every racetrack is complicit in the lack of safety evolution of the catchfence and there is no excuse.
This isn't entirely on Pocono and Will Power and Scott Dixon came to the defense of the circuit after today's race. Power said these have been unfortunate accidents that could happen anywhere. Dixon said the drivers could do better. Drivers have to calm down at the start of these 500-mile races. There is too much of a premium of getting positions at the start and we have seen time and time again a 500-mile race playing itself out. These races need patience. There is also a fluky nature to what has happened at Pocono. If Justin Wilson is a foot to the left or right that debris doesn't hit him and he is probably still alive. That incident could have happened anywhere. It nearly happened the year prior in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis with James Hinchcliffe.
We are fortunate that there hasn't been a major accident involving a car getting into the catchfence at Indianapolis. Would there be the same level of vitriol had these accidents occurred at Indianapolis?
It seems like this is the end of IndyCar at Pocono and it seemed like it was the end regardless if an accident like the one we saw today occurred or not. IndyCar was ready to move on and a lot of it seems to come down to how the place makes people feel but what happens when another track is full of sad memories?
Yes, Justin Wilson died and Robert Wickens was severely hurt at Pocono. Those are horrible memories but drivers have been killed and severely hurt at Indianapolis and no one is protesting that Indianapolis should be removed from the schedule. Drivers have been killed at Toronto, Laguna Seca, Fontana and Milwaukee and notable drivers have been hurt at Texas and Road America. If IndyCar stops going to every racetrack where there are sad memories there are only going to be six races on the schedule.
That is the cynic in me coming out. There is going to be pain in life. We can't always run from it or avoid it or hide it. If we try to run, avoid or hide the difficult parts of life we cease to live. We stunt ourselves as individuals if when faced with pain we attempt to cut it out of our life. We have to face our pain. We have to embrace it, study it and incorporate it into who we are going forward otherwise we are not complete.
When faced with these hardships, IndyCar should not shy away when facing situations that are deemed too dangerous. We should strive to continue to improve and make all aspects safer so events such like Pocono can be able to continue.
I have to break this down intricately because it is no straightforward and it requires a lot of thought.
It was a bit of déjà vu to have another accident in turn two almost immediately with a car grazing the catchfence and an ensuring lengthy red flag.
It did not take long for people to say IndyCar should not race at Pocono due to the danger. Of course, with any action there is an equal and opposite reaction and saying IndyCar should leave Pocono brought out just as large of a crowd defending the race's existence.
When it comes to danger there are many things to take into consideration. Do people not want to race at Pocono because the track itself is dangerous? Let's think for a second and realize Pocono is not a dangerous racetrack. The track is not falling apart. The walls are not outdated that could potentially fall over if a car made contact with it. The track does not have potholes that are a hazard. The track is up to standard.
There are many combinations that lead to the situations we have seen at Pocono. It is part track, it is par car and it is part driver.
When you are driving at 220 MPH, bad things are going to happen. You cannot completely avoid injury. If you have an accident at 220 MPH, there is a chance a driver is going to get hurt. That is just common sense the same way that injuries are possible when two football players or hockey players collide at full speed. Something is going to happen and somebody might get hurt.
Pocono is a 2.5-mile oval with long straightaway. Those high speeds are bound to happen but, while the track lends itself to speed, the car itself is capable of reaching those speeds. Is Pocono dangerous or is Pocono dangerous because of the speed? In that case, there are a handful of other circuits IndyCar goes those where those speeds are achieved. The difference is we have been fortunate not to have these types of accidents at Indianapolis or Texas. That doesn't mean these accidents will never occur at Indianapolis or Texas. Texas used to have this same linger feeling that many carried into Pocono.
Texas severely altered the careers of Davey Hamilton and Kenny Bräck but it has been a while since someone has been seriously injured at that track. It was only three years ago Josef Newgarden was hurt at Texas but he returned to the car immediately. Maybe we would feel differently if Newgarden had been hurt worse than he was that day but nobody talks about Texas the way Pocono has been talked about over the last few years.
The only push back I will give to the Pocono is too dangerous crowd is why not make it safer? It seems like the only answer for some is leave Pocono but that is in a sense giving up, as if nothing can be done and I don't think IndyCar or any series should accept that concession. In a series that has worked tirelessly to make the cars safer and it will continue into 2020 with the introduction of the aeroscreen, why are we not doing the same or demanding the same when it comes to the racetracks? When faced with this adversity the leading option should not be give up but rather evolve and improve.
There is one constant variable when it comes to Pocono, Texas, Indianapolis and mostly every racetrack where we have seen these big accidents, especially the ones that have hurt drivers, and that is the catchfence. Every year we seem to have this conversation and nothing has been done about it. Nothing was done after Hamilton and Bräck's accidents. Nothing was done after Ryan Briscoe's accident at Chicagoland. Nothing was done after Dan Wheldon's accident at Las Vegas. Nothing was done after Robert Wickens' accident last year. Why has nothing been done?
Once again, cars are going 220 MPH, not every injury can be prevent nor should we expect no injury to ever occur but if we are doing all we can to make sure the cars are safe, why aren't we doing the same at racetracks? Every year we talk about the outdated nature of catchfences and nothing is done. There has been no evolution introduced. Pocono could extend the wall around two miles of the 2.5-mile oval and that would solve part of the solution. We wouldn't have to worry about cars being shredded to pieces and the injuries that could come with that. That is going to cost money but nothing is cheap. If the series and the teams are willing to absorb extra costs for safety then the tracks have to do the same. Safety is an all hands on deck effort. Everyone has to be involved and in a way every racetrack is complicit in the lack of safety evolution of the catchfence and there is no excuse.
This isn't entirely on Pocono and Will Power and Scott Dixon came to the defense of the circuit after today's race. Power said these have been unfortunate accidents that could happen anywhere. Dixon said the drivers could do better. Drivers have to calm down at the start of these 500-mile races. There is too much of a premium of getting positions at the start and we have seen time and time again a 500-mile race playing itself out. These races need patience. There is also a fluky nature to what has happened at Pocono. If Justin Wilson is a foot to the left or right that debris doesn't hit him and he is probably still alive. That incident could have happened anywhere. It nearly happened the year prior in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis with James Hinchcliffe.
We are fortunate that there hasn't been a major accident involving a car getting into the catchfence at Indianapolis. Would there be the same level of vitriol had these accidents occurred at Indianapolis?
It seems like this is the end of IndyCar at Pocono and it seemed like it was the end regardless if an accident like the one we saw today occurred or not. IndyCar was ready to move on and a lot of it seems to come down to how the place makes people feel but what happens when another track is full of sad memories?
Yes, Justin Wilson died and Robert Wickens was severely hurt at Pocono. Those are horrible memories but drivers have been killed and severely hurt at Indianapolis and no one is protesting that Indianapolis should be removed from the schedule. Drivers have been killed at Toronto, Laguna Seca, Fontana and Milwaukee and notable drivers have been hurt at Texas and Road America. If IndyCar stops going to every racetrack where there are sad memories there are only going to be six races on the schedule.
That is the cynic in me coming out. There is going to be pain in life. We can't always run from it or avoid it or hide it. If we try to run, avoid or hide the difficult parts of life we cease to live. We stunt ourselves as individuals if when faced with pain we attempt to cut it out of our life. We have to face our pain. We have to embrace it, study it and incorporate it into who we are going forward otherwise we are not complete.
When faced with these hardships, IndyCar should not shy away when facing situations that are deemed too dangerous. We should strive to continue to improve and make all aspects safer so events such like Pocono can be able to continue.
14. Turning back to the championship, when you see Alexander Rossi is out before a lap is completed and Josef Newgarden is second, it was quick to write off the championship but with three races to go, Newgarden is only 35 points ahead of Rossi, 40 points ahead of Pagenaud and 52 points ahead of Dixon. Let's look at it this way: the gap from Newgarden to Rossi is what it should have been if Newgarden had just finished fourth at Mid-Ohio.
Rossi is still in this and not just because of double points. There are still two races and things can change, things will change. This championship is far from over.
Rossi is still in this and not just because of double points. There are still two races and things can change, things will change. This championship is far from over.
15. This was much more writing than I initially thought it would be. Let's get some rest because Gateway will be here soon.
Morning Warm-Up: Pocono 2019
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| Rain puts Josef Newgarden on Pocono pole position |
Alexander Rossi joins Newgarden on the front row. Head-to-head his season, Newgarden has finished ahead of Rossi in seven of 13 races but Rossi has finished ahead of Newgarden in four of the last six races. The two times Newgarden topped Rossi in the last six races were Newgarden's victories at Texas and Iowa. Rossi has not led a lap in the last three races and the last time Rossi did not lead a lap in three consecutive races he went on to win the following two races. He did not lead a lap at Road America, Iowa and Toronto last year before he went on to win at Mid-Ohio and Pocono. Rossi could join Will Power as the only drivers to win consecutive Pocono races. In three starts at Pocono, Rossi has led 228 laps, leading all drivers since 2013. While Newgarden was 17th in practice, Rossi was fourth.
Simon Pagenaud and Scott Dixon will start on the second row. Pagenaud has two top five finishes on ovals this season and his most top five finishes on ovals in a single season is four, which occurred in 2017. Pagenaud's only top five finish at Pocono was fourth in 2017 but he has five top ten finishes in six Pocono starts. Dixon enters Pocono with finishes of second, second and first in his last three races. Dixon has not had four consecutive podium finishes since the end of the 2011 and start of the 2012 season when he won at Motegi, finished third at Kentucky and then finished second at St. Petersburg and Barber. Chip Ganassi Racing is coming off a 1-2 finish at Mid-Ohio. It was the team's first 1-2 finish since Texas in 2015. Pagenaud had gremlins hamper him at the start of Saturday's practice but when things were squared away he was fifth fastest, however, Dixon was second quickest.
Will Power will start fifth. Power is one of two drivers to have completed all 1,160 laps at Pocono since IndyCar's return in 2013. Dixon is the other driver. Power has three consecutive podium finishes, four consecutive top five finishes and he has finished in the top ten in all six of his Pocono starts. He has started in the top ten in all six Pocono starts and he has led a lap in all six Pocono races since 2013. Next to Power on row three will be Ryan Hunter-Reay. Hunter-Reay is coming off a third place finish at Mid-Ohio. Hunter-Reay has twice won the race after Mid-Ohio. He won at Loudon in 2011 after a third place finish at Mid-Ohio and he won at Pocono in 2015 after a seventh place finish at Mid-Ohio. Hunter-Reay has won the 14th race of a season only one time in his career and that was at Baltimore in 2012. Power was 20th in practice while Hunter-Reay was ninth.
The qualifying wash out puts the two Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing cars on row four with Takuma Sato starting seventh and Graham Rahal in eighth. Sato has completed only 493 of a possible 1,160 laps in six Pocono starts. Sato has completed all 500 miles twice at Pocono but he has completed 25 laps or fewer three times at the track. To top it all off, Sato started in the top ten in all six Pocono starts entering 2019! Rahal has an average finish of 15.2 at Pocono in six starts. Of the tracks where Rahal has made at least three starts, the only tracks where he has a worst average finish than Pocono is Kentucky at 15.5 and Indianapolis at 18.2. His father Bobby won at Pocono in 1988 and Bobby had six top five finishes and seven top ten finishes in eight Pocono starts. Rahal was tenth in practice while Sato was 18th.
Felix Rosenqvist will start ninth with James Hinchcliffe rounding out the top ten. Rosenqvist is coming off his career best finish of second at Mid-Ohio but he has finished at least two laps down in his first three oval starts. His average finish in three oval starts is 18th. Hinchcliffe is coming off his 19th finish outside the top twenty in 135 IndyCar starts. On three occasions Hinchcliffe has rebounded from a finish outside the top twenty with a podium finish, including a victory at São Paulo in 2013, third in the second Houston race in 2014 and third in the first Belle Isle race in 2017. Hinchcliffe has finished 20th or worse three times at Pocono and his best finish at the track is tenth. Rosenqvist was 11th in practice with Hinchcliffe in 13th.
Sébastien Bourdais starts on the inside of row six. Bourdais has led a lap in only four races this season and the most laps he has led in a race this season was eight laps at Barber. Bourdais has not led double-figure laps in a race since he led 60 laps at Phoenix last year. Spencer Pigot will be to Bourdais' outside at the start. Pigot is looking for his third consecutive top ten finish, which would be a personal best for the California-born driver. Pigot's average finish in 500-mile races is 18.6 in five career starts. His first lead lap finish in a 500-mile race occurred back in May in the Indianapolis 500 and he picked up his best finish in a 500-mile race with a 14th place result. Bourdais was seventh in practice but Pigot was 21st out of 22 cars.
Santino Ferrucci makes his Pocono debut from 13th starting position with fellow Pocono debutant Colton Herta next to Ferrucci in 14th starting position. Ferrucci has been the top rookie finisher in all three oval races this season, which include a seventh place finish in the Indianapolis 500 and a fourth place finish at Texas. Ferrucci has not had a top ten start since he started tenth at Barber in April. Ferrucci is tied with Rossi for most laps completed this season with both drivers having completed 1,517 of 1,521 laps through 13 races. Herta has had three top ten finishes in his last four starts but he has not had a top five finish since his victory at Austin in March. Herta has yet to finish an oval race in his IndyCar career after retirements for mechanical issues at Indianapolis and Iowa and an accident in Texas. Ferrucci was the top rookie in practice; third quickest overall while Herta was sixth.
Ed Carpenter makes his fourth start of 2019 and it will come from 15th on the grid. Carpenter has led only one lap in six Pocono starts. Carpenter has not had a top five finish at a track that wasn't Indianapolis Motor Speedway since he finished third at Fontana in the 2014 season finale. Marcus Ericsson makes it three Pocono debutants within four positions on the grid with the Swede starting 16th. Ericsson is coming off a 23rd place finish at Mid-Ohio, his third finish outside the top twenty this season and his sixth finish of 20th or worse. Mid-Ohio was the first time all Schmidt Peterson Motorsports finished outside the top twenty in a race since Milwaukee 2015 when Hinchcliffe finished 21st and James Jakes finished 23rd. In this year's Indianapolis 500, Oriol Servià finished 22nd as a one-off for SPM and Ericsson was classified in 23rd. Ericsson was 19th but Carpenter was the slowest car in the two-hour session, however, Carpenter was only 0.6141 seconds off the top spot.
Marco Andretti will start 17th in his home race. Andretti has finished off the lead lap in his last seven oval starts. Last year, Andretti picked up his best finish at Pocono, finishing in seventh, but one lap down. His last lead lap finish on an oval was in last year's Indianapolis 500 when he finished 12th.
Zach Veach makes it an all-Andretti Autosport row nine. Veach has only five lead lap finishes through 13 starts in 2019 with four races to go. Last year, Veach had eight lead lap finishes from 17 starts. Veach's only top ten starting position on an oval came at Pocono last year when he started seventh. Andretti was 16th in practice while Veach was 12th.
Tony Kanaan was fastest in practice with his top lap being 41.5984 seconds, 216.354 MPH but he will have to start 19th after the qualifying wash out. Kanaan has led the third most laps at Pocono since 2013 with 147 laps led. Last year was the first time Kanaan did not lead a lap at Pocono after his race ended due to a throttle issue after only 16 laps. Kanaan has not led a lap since Toronto last year. Matheus Leist joins his A.J. Foyt Racing teammate on row ten. Leist enters Pocono with his average finish of 17.1 in 30 career starts. Leist's average finish in 500-mile races is 13th and he has completed 597 of 600 laps in his three 500-mile starts. Leist has not had a lead lap finish since he completed all 200 laps at Indianapolis in May. While Kanaan was fastest, Leist was 15th in practice, 0.4017 seconds back.
The Carlin cars round out the final row of the grid with Charlie Kimball ahead of Conor Daly. Kimball is back for his fourth appearance of 2019. Kimball has completed 99% of the laps at Pocono since 2013 but he has only two lead lap finishes in six starts at the track and he has only two top ten finishes at Pocono. Conor Daly is back for his fourth race in 2019 and his third in the #59 Chevrolet for Carlin. Daly's finish has gotten slightly worse in each race this season. Daly picked up a tenth place finish in the Indianapolis 500 but he went on to finish 11th at Texas and 13th at Iowa. This is going to be Daly's fourth different team he has driven for at Pocono having previously driven for Dale Coyne Racing, A.J. Foyt Racing and Harding Racing at the 2.5-mile oval. Kimball was eighth in practice and Daly was 14th.
NBCSN's coverage of the ABC Supply 500 begins at 2:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 200 laps.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Track Walk: Pocono 2019
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| IndyCar is back from its second summer break and it returns with a trip to Pocono |
Coverage
Time: Coverage begins at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday August 18th with green flag scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET.
Channel: NBCSN
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy will be in the booth. Kevin Lee, Jon Beekhuis, Dillon Welch and Robin Miller will work pit lane.
IndyCar Weekend Schedule
Saturday:
First Practice: 9:30 a.m. ET (60 minutes)*
Qualifying: 12:30 p.m. ET (Taped-delay coverage on NBCSN at 2:30 p.m. ET)*
Second Practice: 4:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes)*
Sunday:
Race: 2:30 p.m. ET (200 laps)
* - All practice and qualifying sessions are available live with the NBC Sports Gold IndyCar pass.
Championship Picture
Entering the final quarter of the season there are 266 points left on the table between the next three races and the double points finale at Laguna Seca, meaning 14 drivers will head to Pocono mathematically alive for the Astor Cup.
Team Penske's Josef Newgarden enters at the championship leader with 504 points, 16 points ahead of Andretti Autosport's Alexander Rossi. Newgarden suffered his second retirement of the season after he spun off on the final lap at Mid-Ohio while battling for third with Ryan Hunter-Reay and his race ended in the gravel trap. Newgarden has failed to finish in the top ten in three races this season and in the other ten races he has finished in the top five. Rossi has finished in the top five in seven of the last eight races and his worst finish in the last eight races is sixth. Rossi has finished on the podium of all three oval races this season. Rossi's only finish outside the top ten this season was 22nd in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis after he was hit from behind before taking the green flag.
Simon Pagenaud is third in the championship, 47 points behind his Team Penske teammate Newgarden. Pagenaud has finished ahead of Newgarden in five of 13 races this season with three of those being Pagenaud's victories and the other two being the races where Newgarden did not take the checkered flag. Scott Dixon's victory at Mid-Ohio, combined with Newgarden's misfortune, has Dixon 62 points off the championship lead. Dixon has three consecutive podium finishes and four consecutive top five finishes. Dixon has won at Pocono but the only 500-mile race he has won in his career was the 2008 Indianapolis 500. Dixon's victory in Pocono's return to the IndyCar schedule in 2013 was only a 400-mile race.
Will Power makes it three Team Penske drivers in the top six but Power is 148 points behind Newgarden and he has finished outside the top ten in five of 13 races this season. Ryan Hunter-Reay picked up his second podium finish of the season at Mid-Ohio and he is 171 points off Newgarden. Takuma Sato has fallen into a deep rut with his best finish in the last six races being tenth with an average finish over that span being 16.5. Graham Rahal has himself on 312 points, ten points behind Sato with Rahal entering Pocono with seven consecutive top ten finishes on the trot.
Felix Rosenqvist picked up his first podium finish at Mid-Ohio, finishing less than a tenth of a second behind his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon in the third closest finish in a IndyCar road/street course race. Rosenqvist has three top ten finishes over the last four races. James Hinchcliffe rounds out the top ten on 287 points, nine points behind Rosenqvist. Hinchcliffe was 22nd at Mid-Ohio one race altering finishing third at Iowa.
Sébastien Bourdais dropped outside of the top ten after Mid-Ohio and he is 13 points behind Hinchcliffe. Bourdais has not had a top five finish since he finished third at Barber in the third race of the season. Spencer Pigot has climbed up to 12th in the championship after finishes of fifth and seventh in the last two races and he sits nine points behind Bourdais. Santino Ferrucci has not finished in the top ten in the last four races and he has dropped to 13th in the championship on 259 points. After not having a top ten finish in seven consecutive races, Colton Herta has three top ten results in the last four races and he is the last driver mathematically alive for the championship on 245 points, 259 points behind Newgarden.
Winless Drivers
The final quarter of the season is an anxious time for drivers without a victory. Only four races remain and five of the top ten drivers have not taken to the top step of the podium this season. Six of the top ten active drivers with the most victories have not won yet in 2019.
Leading the pack of hungry drivers is Power. Power enters 2019 with 12 consecutive seasons with a victory, the second longest streak in IndyCar history behind Dixon's 15 season streak that he extended last month at Mid-Ohio. This is not the latest Power has gone without having won a race. In 2013, Power's first victory of the season came on August 25th in the 15th race of the season at Sonoma. Power won that race after finishing fourth at Mid-Ohio. Power heads to Pocono off a fourth place finish at Mid-Ohio.
Hunter-Reay won last year's season finale at Sonoma and he is still looking for his first triumph of 2019. Unlike Power, this would be the latest Hunter-Reay's first victory of a season has come. In 2011, he won at Loudon on August 11th, the 13th race of the season and in 2015, he won at Iowa on July 18th in the 13th race of the season. Hunter-Reay has not won on an oval since his Pocono victory in 2015. Hunter-Reay has not finished on the podium at an oval since he was third at Iowa in 2017.
Rahal heads to Pocono off the back of tremendous results and a top ten finish at Pocono would match his personal best streak of consecutive top ten finishes at eight races. However, Pocono has not been kind to Rahal. In six starts at the track, Rahal's best finish is ninth and his average finish is 15.1667. He has completed all 500 miles at Pocono on two of six occasions.
Bourdais has won a race each of the last five seasons but he has never won a 500-mile race and he has not won an oval larger than a mile since the 2005 Champ Car race at Las Vegas. The good news for Bourdais is his Pocono results in recent years have been promising. Last year, he finished fourth after a hard battle with Dixon and prior to that he had a fifth place at Pocono in 2016 driving for KV Racing.
Tony Kanaan heads to Pocono eliminated from the championship battle and he has only scored 199 points from 13 races, leaving him 18th in the championship. Kanaan has not won since Fontana in 2014 but his last two victories have come in 500-mile races. Prior to his Fontana victory Kanaan won the 2013 Indianapolis 500. Kanaan has won 500-mile races at three different tracks. His first career victory in 1999 came at Michigan in a 500-mile race. Kanaan could become the first driver in IndyCar history to win 500-mile races at four different tracks. His last top five finish was a fifth at Pocono in 2017.
IndyCar has not had a new winner since Dixon won his first race of 2019 in the second Belle Isle race.
Penske's Oval Record
There might be a few things in Will Power's favor this weekend and that is Team Penske has been mighty on ovals since 2017. Entering Pocono this weekend, Team Penske has won all three oval races in 2019, four consecutive oval races dating back to last season and 11 of 15 oval races since Newgarden joined the team in 2017.
Newgarden is responsible for Team Penske's last two oval victories but all three Penske drivers have won in the last four oval races. Newgarden and Power have each won four oval races since 2017. Pagenaud's Indianapolis 500 victory in May was the second oval victory of his career with the other being Phoenix in 2017 and Hélio Castroneves won the 2017 Iowa race.
In the last 15 oval races, Team Penske has won eight pole positions, led 2,085 of 3,640 laps or 57.28% of all oval laps run since 2017 and Team Penske has had multiple drivers lead a lap in 12 of the last 15 oval races. In the three oval races in 2019, Team Penske has led 494 of 748 laps or 66.042% of the oval laps contested in 2019.
In those 15 oval races, Team Penske has combined to lead more than 50% of the laps on seven occasions, including combining to lead all 250 laps at Phoenix in 250, 243 of 300 laps at Iowa in 2017, 240 of 248 laps at Gateawy in 2017, 252 of 300 laps at Iowa in 2018, 144 of 200 laps at Indianapolis this year and 296 of 300 laps at Iowa this year. Penske has won six of the seven oval races where it has led 50% of the laps or more with the exception being Iowa last year.
In the four oval races Team Penske has not won since 2017, a Penske car has finished runner-up in three of those and in last year's Iowa race, Josef Newgarden was the top Penske car in fourth. Team Penske has had at least one top five finisher in 18 consecutive oval races with the last oval race not to have a Penske entry in the top five being the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016. Power was the top Team Penske finisher that day and he finished tenth.
Through three oval races in 2019, Pagenaud leads the unofficial oval championship with 174 points and he is only three points clear of Newgarden. Rossi is third on 151 points with Power and Ferrucci tied for fourth on 103 points with the tiebreaker going to Ferrucci. A Penske driver has scored the most points on an oval in five of the last six seasons. However, the last time the driver to score the most oval points in a season won the overall championship was Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012.
Penske has won three of the last five Pocono races and it has won ten times at Pocono Raceway, the all-time track record, but its toughest competition this weekend is going to be Andretti Autosport. The two teams have combined to win 11 of the last 13 500-mile races in IndyCar and the two teams have combined to win eight consecutive 500-mile races dating back to Pocono 2015.
500-Mile Race Record
This weekend's Pocono race will be the 174th 500-mile race in IndyCar history and this will be the 25th 500-mile race to take place at Pocono Raceway. The only track to host more 500-mile races is Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Simon Pagenaud became the 97th different driver to win a 500-mile race with his Indianapolis 500 victory in May and he became the fourth Frenchman to win a 500-mile race joining Jules Goux, René Thomas and Gaston Chevrolet. He became the first European driver to win a 500-mile race since Dario Franchitti in the 2012 Indianapolis 500. Pagenaud could become the first driver to win multiple 500-mile races in a single year since Juan Pablo Montoya won at Indianapolis and Michigan in 2000.
Pagenaud could become the eighth driver to win multiple 500-mile races in a year and only the third to be perfect on 500-mile races. Al Unser completed the Triple Crown in 1978 with victories at Indianapolis, Ontario and Pocono and Rick Mears won at Indianapolis and Michigan in 1991.
While Tony Kanaan could make history as the only driver with 500-mile victories at four different circuits, Will Power could join A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears, Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford as drivers with five 500-mile race victories. Power is also attempting to win a 500-mile race in his fourth consecutive season. The only other drivers to win a 500-mile race in three consecutive seasons are Bobby Unser, who did it from 1974-76 and 1979-81, and Al Unser, who did it from 1976-78.
Last year, Alexander Rossi led 180 of 200 laps, 450 of 500 miles and he became the ninth driver in IndyCar history to lead at least 450 miles in a race. Rossi was the first driver to lead at least 450 miles in a race since Bobby Unser won the 1980 California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway. It was the first time a driver has led at least 450 miles in a Pocono race. Rossi could become the first driver in IndyCar history to lead 450 miles multiple times in a career.
Chevrolet has won 11 of 17 500-mile races since it returned to IndyCar competition in 2012. Each manufacture has won at least one 500-mile race a season since 2014.
Fast Facts
This will be the 12th IndyCar race to take place on August 18th and first since Cristiano da Matta won at Road America in 2002.
Mario Andretti won at Springfield on August 18, 1969 and Michael Andretti won on August 18, 1996 at Road America.
Seventeen different drivers have won at Pocono including five different drivers in the last six years. Thirteen of those 17 drivers are Americans.
The only European driver to win at Pocono is Teo Fabi, who won the 1983 race.
The most recent IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio was the 18th time since reunification where none of the podium finishers started in the top five. Dixon started eighth with Rosenqvist in sixth and Hunter-Reay in tenth. It was the third time none of the podium finishers started in the top five this season but the 2015 season had it occur four times.
The 2013 Pocono race had all three podium finishers start outside the top ten with Dixon winning from 17th, Charlie Kimball finishing second from 12th and Dario Franchitti rounding out the all-Ganassi podium from 20th.
Honda and Chevrolet have split the previous six Pocono races with three victories apiece.
Only twice has the Pocono winner started fifth and those were with Johnny Rutherford in 1974 and Will Power in 2017.
Last year's Pocono race was the fourth fastest 500-mile race in IndyCar history with an average speed of 191.304 MPH. It was the 12th 500-mile race to be completed at an average speed above 180 MPH.
Of those dozen 500-mile races, ten different drivers have claimed victory. The only driver with multiple 500-mile race victories with an average speed above 180 MPH is Tony Kanaan. All three of Kanaan's 500-mile race victories came at average speeds above 180 MPH.
The average starting position for a Pocono winner is 5.24 with a median of three.
The average starting position for a Pocono winner since 2013 is seven with a median of 6.5.
The average number of lead changes in a Pocono race is 19.192 with a median of 16.5.
Last year's race had 11 lead changes and it was the eighth time a Pocono race has had 15 lead changes or fewer.
The average number of cautions in a Pocono race is 6.625 with a median of seven. The average number of caution laps is 37.416 with a median of 34.5.
The average number of cautions in a Pocono race since 2013 is four with a median of 3.5. The average number of caution laps is 23.1667 with a median of 14.5.
If you remove the 2015 Pocono race, which had 12 cautions for 74 laps, the average number of cautions since 2013 is 2.4 with a median of three and an average number of caution laps of 13 with a median of 12 laps.
Possible Milestones:
Will Power is one top five finish away from 100 top five finishes.
Ryan Hunter-Reay is one top ten finish away from 125 top ten finishes.
Josef Newgarden needs to lead 61 laps to reach 500 laps led this season and he would become the ninth driver to lead 500 laps in a season since reunification joining Scott Dixon and Hélio Castroneves in 2008, Dixon and Ryan Briscoe in 2009, Dario Franchitti in 2010, Franchitti and Will Power in 2011 and Power in 2014.
Sébastien Bourdais needs to lead 48 laps to reach the 2,700 laps led milestone.
Josef Newgarden needs to lead 17 laps to reach the 2,000 laps led milestone.
Ryan Hunter-Reay needs to lead 55 laps to reach the 1,600 laps led milestone.
James Hinchcliffe needs to lead 44 laps to reach the 800 laps led milestone.
Takuma Sato needs to lead 53 laps to reach the 700 laps led milestone.
Graham Rahal needs to lead 12 laps to reach the 400 laps led milestone.
Predictions
Honda dominates per se and Alexander Rossi gets another 500-mile race victory, Colton Herta gets a top five finish and at least one Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing car gets a top five finish. A Team Penske car will finish on the podium. There will be at least double the number of lap leaders in this year's race compared to last year's race. Tony Kanaan gets his best starting position of the season and his best finish of the season. Charlie Kimball finishes this race. At least ten cars finish on the lead lap. Sleeper: Spencer Pigot.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Never-ending Thoughts on the 2018 Pocono Race
It is day three of thoughts on the Pocono race. It is different waves. First was looking at the race, taking what we knew and commenting on it. Then it was looking at the thoughts and feelings after Robert Wickens' accident. Today I want to look at other things that happened during the race that did not get attention on Sunday because it was relegated out of discussion and it wasn't talked about yesterday because it still didn't feel right.
A lot of people were up in arms over the start and it took out one car and significantly hampered the race of another. Twice in as many races the initial start has been a flashpoint for IndyCar with the pole-sitter in each case being accused of funny business to disrupt the field into the first corner of the race.
After watching this race and watching a handful of NASCAR races and issues both IndyCar and NASCAR has had with restarts, restart zones and more, I have an alternate way for when the race returns to green flag action and it takes it out of the hands of any driver. The green flag should be waved or the green light should come on when the pace car hits the line at pit in.
Here is why:
1. It takes it out of the hands of a driver who could manipulate it to brake check the driver behind them and potential cause an accordion-like accident similar to the one we saw on Sunday.
2. Drivers don't do the hurry and wait build up to a restart zone. There is no point in building up speed and then quickly forcing the field to decelerate and then stomp on the throttle to hope to gain an advantage. The pole-sitter or the leader is no longer in charge. If he or she wants to do that and decelerates coming to the line and the lights go green then he or she could get snuffed out and end up losing ten positions. In this scenario a driver would have to stay on edge, remain focused and be ready to go because an external force decides when the race becomes green.
3. It is cut and dry. Once the pace car hits the line, the green light comes on and drivers can hit the gas. No more of this restart zone, the leader can start anywhere between two lines. It is just like a stoplight at the intersection outside your house. The light turns green and then everyone can go.
It seems simple to implement. Are there issues with it? Sure. The pace car isn't perfect. We have seen plenty of pace car errors throughout the years but I think it decreases the chance of an accident occurring and another driver being at fault. One thing IndyCar has had a problem with throughout the years is the pole-sitter or leader playing games with a start, whether it has been the last few weeks with the abrupt deceleration or Hélio Castroneves being full throttle and eight car lengths ahead of the field before the flagman even has the green flag in hand. This might be the best way to save the drivers from themselves.
I got to watch some of the race broadcast from Sunday and Tony Kanaan was in the booth after his retirement. He was insightful and he fit in with Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell. Does that mean Kanaan should join a four-man IndyCar booth like NBC does for NASCAR? No and besides, Kanaan has a contract for next year and I think he still wants to be a driver.
But the one thing that hit me is how rotten Kanaan's year has been. Some of it might be age and every driver regresses a bit when they get older but it seems like Kanaan has had the little things take him out of races this year and the worst part of it is they have occurred at oval races where he is most likely to shine. A tire puncture forced an extra pit stop in the Indianapolis 500 and he got back in the top ten before a spin ended his day. His Texas race was over before he could break a sweat after a grazing the wall and a throttle sensor issue took him out early a Pocono.
Unfortunately, this hope of a renaissance at A.J. Foyt Racing with this successful driver has not happened. If anything, it has happened about four years too late. I am not sure when or if it can turn around for Foyt. The good news is the team has said it is retaining both drivers for next year but it seems like it doesn't matter who the drivers are. The problems are deeper than that.
Finally, I want to go back to the lack of track time the teams had at Pocono. There was a split camp over whether it was fair the drivers had an hour of practice and a qualifying run before the race and many seem to think extra time should have been given.
Part of me thought there was a chance for a brief warm-up session in the morning just to get some rubber into the racetrack. That didn't happen.
It was talked about in the booth and Kanaan and Bell both agreed that they liked the get to it nature of an hour practice followed by qualifying with an hour final session. Kanaan even said that you get all this time at Indianapolis to try things out and then can't make a decision but at a race like Pocono the team is forced to get to the point.
I think Pocono was a rough weekend. It was a two-day show and rain came after qualifying. I think two-day shows save the teams from themselves. Not every oval race should be a three-day show. Teams need to save money and unnecessary expense should be limited. In this case however, with a new aero kit and changes from Indianapolis and with few teams having time at the track maybe IndyCar should have scheduled a test at Pocono for Friday and given the teams three to six hours to learn and understand what this car can do.
It is hard for the series because it isn't like the 1990s where you can get every team to test and figure out the aero package. In a perfect world, IndyCar would have tested multiple days with every car at Pocono before this race to figure out the low downforce aero kit. We don't live in that world. The series and the teams have to kind of figure it out as they go.
If adjustments are to be made to the aero kit for low downforce racetracks before next year, and it seems like that is a possibility, IndyCar should schedule a multiple day test at Pocono. In my mind, I think it is more pertinent that teams and the series test at Pocono than say Road America or Iowa, two places where teams tested during the summer. Not that nothing more can be learned from a road course or short oval but rather there are so many opportunities to use the high downforce kit in race weekends that the low downforce kit should get more attention in testing than it does now.
These are some of the lighter thoughts I had from the weekend that didn't seem to fit in on Sunday night or yesterday. A lot of thinking has occurred over the last 48 hours and I am not sure I am done writing about this past weekend. Some of the thoughts were light like the ones above but after Wickens' accident and the dangerous nature of racing it allows you to visit a dark place and you start to realize the dark nature of motorsport that is constantly trying to be hidden in fan autograph sessions and corporate hospitality suites. I want to share those as well because I think it is important to be open. It might not be pleasant but it is important to take into consideration this part of motorsports and its history we ignore.
A lot of people were up in arms over the start and it took out one car and significantly hampered the race of another. Twice in as many races the initial start has been a flashpoint for IndyCar with the pole-sitter in each case being accused of funny business to disrupt the field into the first corner of the race.
After watching this race and watching a handful of NASCAR races and issues both IndyCar and NASCAR has had with restarts, restart zones and more, I have an alternate way for when the race returns to green flag action and it takes it out of the hands of any driver. The green flag should be waved or the green light should come on when the pace car hits the line at pit in.
Here is why:
1. It takes it out of the hands of a driver who could manipulate it to brake check the driver behind them and potential cause an accordion-like accident similar to the one we saw on Sunday.
2. Drivers don't do the hurry and wait build up to a restart zone. There is no point in building up speed and then quickly forcing the field to decelerate and then stomp on the throttle to hope to gain an advantage. The pole-sitter or the leader is no longer in charge. If he or she wants to do that and decelerates coming to the line and the lights go green then he or she could get snuffed out and end up losing ten positions. In this scenario a driver would have to stay on edge, remain focused and be ready to go because an external force decides when the race becomes green.
3. It is cut and dry. Once the pace car hits the line, the green light comes on and drivers can hit the gas. No more of this restart zone, the leader can start anywhere between two lines. It is just like a stoplight at the intersection outside your house. The light turns green and then everyone can go.
It seems simple to implement. Are there issues with it? Sure. The pace car isn't perfect. We have seen plenty of pace car errors throughout the years but I think it decreases the chance of an accident occurring and another driver being at fault. One thing IndyCar has had a problem with throughout the years is the pole-sitter or leader playing games with a start, whether it has been the last few weeks with the abrupt deceleration or Hélio Castroneves being full throttle and eight car lengths ahead of the field before the flagman even has the green flag in hand. This might be the best way to save the drivers from themselves.
I got to watch some of the race broadcast from Sunday and Tony Kanaan was in the booth after his retirement. He was insightful and he fit in with Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell. Does that mean Kanaan should join a four-man IndyCar booth like NBC does for NASCAR? No and besides, Kanaan has a contract for next year and I think he still wants to be a driver.
But the one thing that hit me is how rotten Kanaan's year has been. Some of it might be age and every driver regresses a bit when they get older but it seems like Kanaan has had the little things take him out of races this year and the worst part of it is they have occurred at oval races where he is most likely to shine. A tire puncture forced an extra pit stop in the Indianapolis 500 and he got back in the top ten before a spin ended his day. His Texas race was over before he could break a sweat after a grazing the wall and a throttle sensor issue took him out early a Pocono.
Unfortunately, this hope of a renaissance at A.J. Foyt Racing with this successful driver has not happened. If anything, it has happened about four years too late. I am not sure when or if it can turn around for Foyt. The good news is the team has said it is retaining both drivers for next year but it seems like it doesn't matter who the drivers are. The problems are deeper than that.
Finally, I want to go back to the lack of track time the teams had at Pocono. There was a split camp over whether it was fair the drivers had an hour of practice and a qualifying run before the race and many seem to think extra time should have been given.
Part of me thought there was a chance for a brief warm-up session in the morning just to get some rubber into the racetrack. That didn't happen.
It was talked about in the booth and Kanaan and Bell both agreed that they liked the get to it nature of an hour practice followed by qualifying with an hour final session. Kanaan even said that you get all this time at Indianapolis to try things out and then can't make a decision but at a race like Pocono the team is forced to get to the point.
I think Pocono was a rough weekend. It was a two-day show and rain came after qualifying. I think two-day shows save the teams from themselves. Not every oval race should be a three-day show. Teams need to save money and unnecessary expense should be limited. In this case however, with a new aero kit and changes from Indianapolis and with few teams having time at the track maybe IndyCar should have scheduled a test at Pocono for Friday and given the teams three to six hours to learn and understand what this car can do.
It is hard for the series because it isn't like the 1990s where you can get every team to test and figure out the aero package. In a perfect world, IndyCar would have tested multiple days with every car at Pocono before this race to figure out the low downforce aero kit. We don't live in that world. The series and the teams have to kind of figure it out as they go.
If adjustments are to be made to the aero kit for low downforce racetracks before next year, and it seems like that is a possibility, IndyCar should schedule a multiple day test at Pocono. In my mind, I think it is more pertinent that teams and the series test at Pocono than say Road America or Iowa, two places where teams tested during the summer. Not that nothing more can be learned from a road course or short oval but rather there are so many opportunities to use the high downforce kit in race weekends that the low downforce kit should get more attention in testing than it does now.
These are some of the lighter thoughts I had from the weekend that didn't seem to fit in on Sunday night or yesterday. A lot of thinking has occurred over the last 48 hours and I am not sure I am done writing about this past weekend. Some of the thoughts were light like the ones above but after Wickens' accident and the dangerous nature of racing it allows you to visit a dark place and you start to realize the dark nature of motorsport that is constantly trying to be hidden in fan autograph sessions and corporate hospitality suites. I want to share those as well because I think it is important to be open. It might not be pleasant but it is important to take into consideration this part of motorsports and its history we ignore.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
First Impressions: Pocono 2018
1. I am exhausted. I am not sure I have had a more tiring day at a racetrack. But I survived and I am going to kind of wing this and not really dig deep and I have yet to watch the broadcast. I will save that for tomorrow.
2. This was an old school 500-mile race. The kind where one driver said I am going to run as fast as I can and let's see if you can keep up. That is what Alexander Rossi did today and he picked up his second consecutive victory, his second 500-mile race victory, this third victory of the season and he closes in on the championship lead. This has been an impressive season for Rossi and while he has given away a lot of points now is the time to collect and Rossi is taking them in bunches. There is still a lot of time left in the season but Rossi is peaking at the right time.
3. The one driver who could keep up with Rossi was Will Power and it seemed Power was going to win his third consecutive Pocono race and third consecutive 500-mile race. For another race, Power found a way to the lead when he didn't seem to be in contention. This race was a lot like a road course race. Rossi was gone at one point, 11 seconds clear of the field and then he hit traffic and couldn't make it through. Power went from 11 seconds to one second back and pushing Rossi. What benefited Power was he made ground when Rossi was stuck behind Pagenaud and Power was able to leapfrog ahead of Rossi but Rossi ran him down and Rossi deserved this one. He led 180 laps. It was a beat down we haven't seen in a 500-mile race in a long time.
4. Somehow Scott Dixon finished third and once again on his worst day he ends up on the podium and while he lost a fair share of points, he still leads the championship. He really didn't have a chance at victory but once again he was able to rake in the points. He was slightly off strategy but he found a way to the front when others appeared to be better.
5. Sébastien Bourdais was fourth and the final car on the lead lap. I can't recall the last time this few cars finished on the lead lap for a 500-mile race. I am sure it happened more recently than I think. I remember the 1999 Indianapolis 500 didn't have that many lead lap finishers and maybe one of the last 500-mile races in the CART-era had few lead lap finishes. Bourdais was solid today. He kept his nose clean. Ironically, Bourdais was the last one to get in his car before the restart and it wasn't a minute or two after everyone else. Everyone else was strapped in and Bourdais was on his cellphone, riding in the golf cart up the pit lane. It read of someone confident and somehow conflicted. But we will talk about that tomorrow.
6. Josef Newgarden rounded out the top five in a day where fifth was probably the best he was going to do. He didn't quite have it to compete at the front. For part of this race he was seventh or eighth but it typical Team Penske fashion it found a way to use pit strategy to make up a handful of positions and it this case it greatly benefitted Newgarden.
7. Zach Veach was a darling today. He was making passes and he was challenging the likes of Newgarden, Bourdais and Pagenaud in this one. He looked comfortable out there and he has made big strides in the last three races.
8. Going back to this being more like a road course race, Marco Andretti stopped early and when from sixth to third and spent a fair share of the race there. However, it always felt Andretti wasn't going to end up on the podium and either Dixon, Bourdais or Newgarden would collect the hardware. Sure enough that turned out to be true. Andretti did well today but his early stop forced him to save fuel and he couldn't hold on to the positions. Andretti doesn't seem to be a driver who can save fuel and that is fine but he can't be put on a fuel save strategy. Let him go all out.
9. Simon Pagenaud finished eighth and he seemed to be eighth all day. He didn't quite have it and it seems to be that kind of year for him.
10. Charlie Kimball finished ninth and it is kind of hard to believe. Then again, this wasn't a race to focus on ninth. He just kept turning laps and that is what Kimball does on a frequent basis and if you keep finish laps then the finishes will follow. He might not be the most popular driver but he can get results and he is helping Carlin greatly.
11. And rounding out the top ten is Ed Carpenter. He was up in that group with Bourdais, Newgarden, Andretti, Veach, Pagenaud and Dixon but he faded. While his team seems to have Indianapolis figured out, Pocono remains a mystery.
12. A.J. Foyt Racing gave Matheus Leist a terrible strategy and he was forced to make an extra stop with 14 laps to go. He still ended up 11th but he could have been in the top ten.
13. Ed Jones finished three laps down in 12th and Max Chilton was four laps down in 13th.
14. Let's go to the start because that is what royally screwed Graham Rahal's day. The start-stop nature of IndyCar starts the last few races nearly caused an accident at Mid-Ohio and did this weekend. Unfortunately, Rahal was the guy to run into the back of another competitor and it ruined Spencer Pigot's day. This is something that will be tackled in greater detail tomorrow but on top of the damage that forced Rahal a lap down, he was penalized another two laps. Impressively, Rahal only finished four laps down and he was three laps down from like lap 12 so he had a strong car but was never going to catch up.
15. We are going to tackle the Robert Wickens accident now but not in great details. I haven't been able to digest a replay. I saw a few at the track but it is hard to break it down in that setting. It is unfortunate for him because he has been spectacular. We have been here before with these accidents. They can't be avoided. It is terrible it happened so early and a lot of drivers were done after six laps. More specifically, a lot of Honda drivers were done after six laps. Wickens and Ryan Hunter-Reay were two possible contenders. James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato both can't get a break in Pocono. Pietro Fittipaldi gets a career-best finish but only because there weren't 23 cars in this race. He is another driver who can't seem to get a break regardless of what he is driving.
16. I need some time. Everything will be visited tomorrow. I just need time. It is late. It is nearly 10:00 p.m. ET. This was a 12-hour day from leaving to head to the race to pulling into the driveway. Accident and two-hour red flag aside, this was a fun race. It was a different race than what we saw last year at Pocono. There is a beauty in a 500-mile race and IndyCar should have a Triple Crown. Even better, these cars did 188 laps of consecutive green flag racing. The average speed was 191.304 MPH. Should something be done to the universal aero kit after two iffy showings on 2.5-mile ovals? Maybe. IndyCar will undoubtedly explore it but a different race does not mean a worse race. The strategy was fun and passes could be made but they were challenging. Isn't that what we want? We want a driver to earn a pass. It was great to be there and the crowd was really good. It had to be better than last year and not many left during the red flag. Dario Franchitti even commented on the radio broadcasted how good the crowd looked and how amazed he was that the crowd stayed. It was an emotional day. We sat wondering if we were watching another man die and three hours later were standing cheering a race into turn two for the lead. It was a long day.
17. And IndyCar will be back at it in six days. Scott Dixon's championship lead to Alexander Rossi is 29 points, Josef Newgarden is 66 points back and Will Power is 81 points back. After today, it seems to be a four-horse race.
2. This was an old school 500-mile race. The kind where one driver said I am going to run as fast as I can and let's see if you can keep up. That is what Alexander Rossi did today and he picked up his second consecutive victory, his second 500-mile race victory, this third victory of the season and he closes in on the championship lead. This has been an impressive season for Rossi and while he has given away a lot of points now is the time to collect and Rossi is taking them in bunches. There is still a lot of time left in the season but Rossi is peaking at the right time.
3. The one driver who could keep up with Rossi was Will Power and it seemed Power was going to win his third consecutive Pocono race and third consecutive 500-mile race. For another race, Power found a way to the lead when he didn't seem to be in contention. This race was a lot like a road course race. Rossi was gone at one point, 11 seconds clear of the field and then he hit traffic and couldn't make it through. Power went from 11 seconds to one second back and pushing Rossi. What benefited Power was he made ground when Rossi was stuck behind Pagenaud and Power was able to leapfrog ahead of Rossi but Rossi ran him down and Rossi deserved this one. He led 180 laps. It was a beat down we haven't seen in a 500-mile race in a long time.
4. Somehow Scott Dixon finished third and once again on his worst day he ends up on the podium and while he lost a fair share of points, he still leads the championship. He really didn't have a chance at victory but once again he was able to rake in the points. He was slightly off strategy but he found a way to the front when others appeared to be better.
5. Sébastien Bourdais was fourth and the final car on the lead lap. I can't recall the last time this few cars finished on the lead lap for a 500-mile race. I am sure it happened more recently than I think. I remember the 1999 Indianapolis 500 didn't have that many lead lap finishers and maybe one of the last 500-mile races in the CART-era had few lead lap finishes. Bourdais was solid today. He kept his nose clean. Ironically, Bourdais was the last one to get in his car before the restart and it wasn't a minute or two after everyone else. Everyone else was strapped in and Bourdais was on his cellphone, riding in the golf cart up the pit lane. It read of someone confident and somehow conflicted. But we will talk about that tomorrow.
6. Josef Newgarden rounded out the top five in a day where fifth was probably the best he was going to do. He didn't quite have it to compete at the front. For part of this race he was seventh or eighth but it typical Team Penske fashion it found a way to use pit strategy to make up a handful of positions and it this case it greatly benefitted Newgarden.
7. Zach Veach was a darling today. He was making passes and he was challenging the likes of Newgarden, Bourdais and Pagenaud in this one. He looked comfortable out there and he has made big strides in the last three races.
8. Going back to this being more like a road course race, Marco Andretti stopped early and when from sixth to third and spent a fair share of the race there. However, it always felt Andretti wasn't going to end up on the podium and either Dixon, Bourdais or Newgarden would collect the hardware. Sure enough that turned out to be true. Andretti did well today but his early stop forced him to save fuel and he couldn't hold on to the positions. Andretti doesn't seem to be a driver who can save fuel and that is fine but he can't be put on a fuel save strategy. Let him go all out.
9. Simon Pagenaud finished eighth and he seemed to be eighth all day. He didn't quite have it and it seems to be that kind of year for him.
10. Charlie Kimball finished ninth and it is kind of hard to believe. Then again, this wasn't a race to focus on ninth. He just kept turning laps and that is what Kimball does on a frequent basis and if you keep finish laps then the finishes will follow. He might not be the most popular driver but he can get results and he is helping Carlin greatly.
11. And rounding out the top ten is Ed Carpenter. He was up in that group with Bourdais, Newgarden, Andretti, Veach, Pagenaud and Dixon but he faded. While his team seems to have Indianapolis figured out, Pocono remains a mystery.
12. A.J. Foyt Racing gave Matheus Leist a terrible strategy and he was forced to make an extra stop with 14 laps to go. He still ended up 11th but he could have been in the top ten.
13. Ed Jones finished three laps down in 12th and Max Chilton was four laps down in 13th.
14. Let's go to the start because that is what royally screwed Graham Rahal's day. The start-stop nature of IndyCar starts the last few races nearly caused an accident at Mid-Ohio and did this weekend. Unfortunately, Rahal was the guy to run into the back of another competitor and it ruined Spencer Pigot's day. This is something that will be tackled in greater detail tomorrow but on top of the damage that forced Rahal a lap down, he was penalized another two laps. Impressively, Rahal only finished four laps down and he was three laps down from like lap 12 so he had a strong car but was never going to catch up.
15. We are going to tackle the Robert Wickens accident now but not in great details. I haven't been able to digest a replay. I saw a few at the track but it is hard to break it down in that setting. It is unfortunate for him because he has been spectacular. We have been here before with these accidents. They can't be avoided. It is terrible it happened so early and a lot of drivers were done after six laps. More specifically, a lot of Honda drivers were done after six laps. Wickens and Ryan Hunter-Reay were two possible contenders. James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato both can't get a break in Pocono. Pietro Fittipaldi gets a career-best finish but only because there weren't 23 cars in this race. He is another driver who can't seem to get a break regardless of what he is driving.
16. I need some time. Everything will be visited tomorrow. I just need time. It is late. It is nearly 10:00 p.m. ET. This was a 12-hour day from leaving to head to the race to pulling into the driveway. Accident and two-hour red flag aside, this was a fun race. It was a different race than what we saw last year at Pocono. There is a beauty in a 500-mile race and IndyCar should have a Triple Crown. Even better, these cars did 188 laps of consecutive green flag racing. The average speed was 191.304 MPH. Should something be done to the universal aero kit after two iffy showings on 2.5-mile ovals? Maybe. IndyCar will undoubtedly explore it but a different race does not mean a worse race. The strategy was fun and passes could be made but they were challenging. Isn't that what we want? We want a driver to earn a pass. It was great to be there and the crowd was really good. It had to be better than last year and not many left during the red flag. Dario Franchitti even commented on the radio broadcasted how good the crowd looked and how amazed he was that the crowd stayed. It was an emotional day. We sat wondering if we were watching another man die and three hours later were standing cheering a race into turn two for the lead. It was a long day.
17. And IndyCar will be back at it in six days. Scott Dixon's championship lead to Alexander Rossi is 29 points, Josef Newgarden is 66 points back and Will Power is 81 points back. After today, it seems to be a four-horse race.
Morning Warm-Up: Pocono 2018
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| Will Power is one step closer to history starting on pole position at Pocono |
Josef Newgarden qualified second in another clean sweep of the front row for Team Penske. Newgarden's two-lap average was 218.802 MPH and this is the fifth time this season Team Penske has swept the front row. This is Newgarden's second front row start at Pocono. He has finished in the top ten in all five starts. After not finishing better than 16th in his first five 500-mile races, he has had eight top ten finishes in his last ten 500-mile race starts. Newgarden did not lead a lap at Mid-Ohio three weeks ago but in the prior four races he had led 366 laps. He has led 73 laps in his career at Pocono including him leading in the last four Pocono races. A top five finish this weekend would be only the second time Newgarden would have picked up consecutive top five finishes this season. He finished fourth three weeks ago at Mid-Ohio.
Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay form an all-Andretti Autosport row two. This is the third time this season Rossi and Hunter-Reay have started on the same row. At Road America, Hunter-Reay started third and Rossi started fourth with Hunter-Reay finishing second while Rossi finished 16th after a chamber shim issue. At Toronto, Rossi started fifth and Hunter-Reay started sixth with Rossi finishing eighth despite having to go off strategy after he broke his front wing running into the back of Power while Hunter-Reay was got in two separate incidents including himself driving into the tire barrier in turn three before be caught in a multi-car incident in turn one. Simon Pagenaud makes it three Team Penske cars in the top five. This is the first time Pagenaud has started in the top ten in consecutive Pocono races. The Frenchman had started 14th in each Pocono race to fall in an even-numbered year before this one. Robert Wickens will make his Pocono debut from sixth on the grid. The driver of the #6 Honda is sixth in the championship entering this race. This is his eighth consecutive top ten starting position.
Zach Veach matched his career best starting position of seventh position for what will be his first Pocono IndyCar start. Veach started seventh in the second Belle Isle race in June. This is only his second top ten starting position of his career. Veach made two starts at the track in Indy Lights. He started sixth and finished fourth in 2013 and he started on pole position in 2014 and led six laps before he finished second. Sébastien Bourdais ended a streak of three consecutive races starting outside the top ten with his eighth place qualifying effort. This is only the third time Bourdais has started eighth in his career. He did it at Sonoma in 2011 and finished sixth and he did it in the 2016 Grand Prix of Indianapolis where he and Tony Kanaan were caught in a turn one, lap one accident. James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato will start on row five. This is Hinchcliffe's fourth top ten start at Pocono and Sato has started in the top ten in every Pocono race since 2013. The two drivers combine for only two top ten finishes in this race and they have led a combined six laps with each driver having led three apiece.
Marco Andretti, who is 11th in the championship, will start 11th, the fourth consecutive year he has started outside the top ten at Pocono. This is also the sixth consecutive race Andretti has started outside the top ten this season and he has started outside the top ten in 12 of 14 races in 2018. Ed Jones will start on the outside of row six, one position worse than Jones started last year on his Pocono debut. His average finish in four oval races this year is 18.25. Championship leader Scott Dixon will roll off from the lucky 13th position. This is Dixon's third time starting outside the top ten this season, his most since 2014 when he started outside the top ten six times. Dixon won from 17th on the grid at Pocono in 2013. The last IndyCar race won from 13th on the grid was by Graham Rahal at Texas in 2015. Tony Kanaan will be next to his former Chip Ganassi Racing teammate on row seven. Kanaan has won three times when starting outside the top ten and two of those were 500-mile races. His first career victory was from 11th at Michigan in 1999 and he won the 2013 Indianapolis 500 from 12th. He also won at Iowa in 2010 from 15th.
Row eight is all-Ed Carpenter Racing with Ed Carpenter ahead of Spencer Pigot. Last year, Carpenter started 22nd and finished 12th. Carpenter has started outside the top ten in five of six Pocono appearances. Pigot makes his Pocono debut this weekend and he is still looking to finish on the lead lap for the first time in a 500-mile race. Pietro Fittipaldi will make his Pocono debut from 17th position. Fittipaldi has finished 23rd in each of his first two IndyCar starts. Graham Rahal joins Fittipaldi on row nine. The last time a Fittipaldi and a Rahal started on the same row for an IndyCar race was at Vancouver in 1997 when Bobby Rahal started 11th and Christian Fittipaldi started 12th and those drivers finished 25th and 14th respectively that day. Bobby Rahal retired after an engine failure. Charlie Kimball will start 19th. Kimball is the only driver to have qualified for every race this season and not have started in the top ten. His best starting position this season was 12th at Texas. Matheus Leist joins Kimball on row ten. Leist has started on row ten or eleven eight times this season.
The final row is comprised of Max Chilton and Conor Daly. This is Chilton's fifth time starting outside the top twenty this season, four of those have occurred on ovals. The only non-oval he started outside the top twenty was Road America. Chilton's best start on an oval was 20th at Indianapolis. Daly has finished better than his starting position in each of his two Pocono starts. He started 20th in 2016 and finished 16th and he started 17th last year before finishing 14th. This will be Daly's 16th start outside the top twenty in 43 IndyCar starts.
NBCSN's coverage of the ABC Supply 500 from Pocono Raceway begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 200 laps.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Track Walk: Pocono 2018
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| IndyCar will fill the front straightaway at Pocono |
Coverage:
Time: Coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday August 19th with green flag scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: NBCSN
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy will be in the booth. Kevin Lee, Jon Beekhuis, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller will work pit lane.
IndyCar Weekend Schedule
Saturday:
First Practice: 10:30 a.m. ET (60-minute session)
Qualifying: 1:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN will have live coverage of this session)
Second Practice: 4:45 p.m. ET (60-minute session)
Sunday:
Race: 2:05 p.m. ET (200 laps)
The Championship Picture
We have reached the final quarter of the IndyCar season. With four races remaining and 266 points left on the table, 14 drivers head to Pocono mathematically alive for the championship.
Scott Dixon has led the championship since he won at Texas in June and with 494 points he is 46 points clear of the most recent winner Alexander Rossi. This is the first time Dixon has been leading the championship with four races to go since 2009 when he led after Mid-Ohio. He would drop to third in the next race but retook the championship lead after the penultimate round at Motegi. He would then lose the championship by ten points to teammate Dario Franchitti. In 2008, Dixon led the championship with four races remaining in the season and won the championship. He led the championship after 15 of 18 races that year and was never lower than second in the championship.
Rossi's Mid-Ohio victory ended a brief skid of three consecutive finishes outside the top five. He and Dixon are tied for most podium finishes this season with each driver finishing on the podium six times in the first 13 races. Rossi won from pole position at Mid-Ohio, his second victory from pole position this season. The only other driver to win multiple times from pole position this season is Josef Newgarden, who is third in the championship, 60 points behind Dixon. Newgarden's only three podium finishes this season have been his victories at Phoenix, Barber and Road America.
Will Power won last year at Pocono and he is fourth in the championship, 87 points behind Dixon. Power's third place finish at Mid-Ohio was his first podium finish in four races and he has five podium finishes this season. Ryan Hunter-Reay is 95 points behind Dixon. Hunter-Reay has not finished in the top five in the last three races after five consecutive top five finishes and eight top five finishes in the first ten races.
One hundred and 14 points behind Dixon is the top rookie, Robert Wickens. The Canadian has four consecutive top five finishes including two consecutive podium finishes. Wickens has ten top ten finishes through 13 races. Simon Pagenaud trails Dixon by 150 points with the 2016 champion's only top five finishes this season being his runner-up performances at Texas and Toronto, both races won by Dixon. Graham Rahal is tied with Dixon for most top ten finishes this season with each driver having 11 but Rahal's only podium finish was second at the season opener in St. Petersburg and he has not had a top five finish since the second Belle Isle race. Rahal is 159 points behind Dixon.
James Hinchcliffe sits on 328 points and he is ninth in the championship with Sébastien Bourdais rounding out the top ten on 293 points. Marco Andretti is eight points outside the top ten with last year's Pocono pole-sitter Takuma Sato on 258 points. Ed Jones is three points behind Sato and has not had a top ten finish in the last three races. Spencer Pigot is the final driver with a shot at the championship but the Ed Carpenter Racing driver has a 255-point deficit to overcome.
Power's 500-Mile Dominance
Will Power heads to Pocono and could do something only the Al and Bobby Unser achieved.
Not only is Power going for his third consecutive Pocono victory but he could become the third driver to win three consecutive 500-mile races in IndyCar history. Al Unser won four consecutive 500-mile races when he won the 1977 California 500 and followed it by completing the Triple Crown in 1978 with victory at Indianapolis, Pocono and Ontario. Bobby Unser won 500-mile races at Pocono and Ontario in 1980 and then won the Indianapolis 500 the following year.
Power has already joined the Unsers as the only drivers to have won a 500-mile race in three consecutive seasons with Bobby Unser having accomplished it twice. Uncle Bobby won at least one 500-mile race from 1974-1976 and he did it again from 1979-1981. Al Unser won at least one 500-mile race from 1976-1978.
The last time a driver won multiple 500-mile races in a year was Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000, who won the Indianapolis 500 and then won at Michigan. The last time a driver won multiple 500-mile races in the same season was Rick Mears in 1991, who won at Indianapolis and Michigan. Power could tie Mears for second most victories at Pocono. Power's Indianapolis 500 victory was his fourth 500-mile race victory and he is one of eight driver to have won four 500-mile races. Only A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford have won at least five 500-mile race victories.
Who could stop Power from joining the Unsers in IndyCar history?
Seven other drivers are entered with a 500-mile race victory. Two active driver have multiple 500-mile race victories. Tony Kanaan has three 500-mile victories and Ryan Hunter-Reay has won two 500-mile races, including a victory at Pocono in 2015. Alexander Rossi has five 500-mile starts and outside of a retirement in the 2016 Pocono race, his finishes have been first, seventh, third and fourth.
Takuma Sato started on pole position last year at Pocono but he finished 13th. Sato has retired and finished outside the top twenty in three of five Pocono starts. Graham Rahal won at Fontana in 2015 but he has finished outside the top ten in four of his last six 500-mile starts and his best finish in those six races was ninth last year at Pocono. Ed Carpenter finished second to Power this year at Indianapolis after he started from pole position but in five Pocono starts his best starting position is tenth in 2016 and his best finish was ninth in 2013 when the race was 400 miles.
Scott Dixon's only 500-mile race victory was his 2008 Indianapolis 500 victory. He won at Pocono in 2013 but that was a 400-mile race. In the 18 500-mile races since the 2008 Indianapolis 500, Dixon has four podium finishes, seven top five finishes and 15 top ten finishes.
Power's Penske teammates are two drivers who could possibly stop the Australian's dominance. Josef Newgarden's worst finish at Pocono is eighth and he has finished second two of the last three years including last year to Power. On top of that, Newgarden has led a lap four consecutive years at Pocono. Since 2015, Newgarden has six top ten finishes in eight 500-mile races. Simon Pagenaud picked up his first top five finish at Pocono last year when he finished fourth but he has four top ten finishes in five Pocono starts and he has started on the front row two of the last three years. Both Newgarden and Pagenaud are looking for their first 500-mile race victory.
Who is Running Out of Time for a Victory?
With only four races remaining, time is running out for drivers looking to get their first victory of the season. Through 13 races there have been seven different winners and there have been four different winners in the last four races.
Robert Wickens, Simon Pagenaud and Graham Rahal are the three drivers in the top ten of the championship without a victory this season. Wickens could become the third driver to pick up a first career victory at Pocono. Mark Donohue won the inaugural Pocono and not only was its Donohue's first career victory but it was Team Penske's first IndyCar victory. Teo Fabi's first career victory was at Pocono in 1983.
While Pagenaud has had respectable results at Pocono, the track has not been as kind to Rahal. Last year's ninth place finish was his first top ten finish at the track in five starts. Last year, he started seventh and that was only the second time he had started in the top ten. His average finish in five Pocono appearances is 15.4. The only drivers with worst average finishes at Pocono with at least four starts since 2013 are James Hinchcliffe at 16.5 and Takuma Sato at 16.8. Ironically, Sato and Hinchcliffe rank second and third in average Pocono starting position of the drivers with at least four starts since 2013 at 4.8 and 6.5 respectively. Rahal's average starting position here is 10.6.
Marco Andretti heads to his home race on a 122-race drought and if he does not win at Pocono or Gateway he will at least match Graham Rahal's record for most starts between victories in IndyCar history. Andretti has had his fair share of heartbreak in his backyard. He started on pole position in 2013 and he led 88 laps but he was forced to conserve fuel to make it to the finish and he dropped to tenth. He started fifth and finished ninth in 2014 but the last three years Andretti has finished outside the top ten. Last year's race saw Andretti stretch his fuel and lead nine laps but a pit stop for a splash with ten laps to go relegated him to an 11th place finish. Andretti's 97 laps led at Pocono is the third most since the series returned to the track in 2013. His grandfather Mario won three 500-mile races with his final 500-mile race victory coming at Pocono in 1986. His father Michael's two 500-mile race victories were at Michigan in 1987 and 1989.
While Andretti is on a 122-race slump, Tony Kanaan has not won in his last 62 starts. His most recent victory was in a 500-mile race and that was the 2014 season finale at Fontana. It was Kanaan's only victory in four years with Chip Ganassi Racing. Kanaan has not finished in the top five since last year at Pocono when he finished fifth. Like Andretti, Kanaan has been snake bitten at Pocono as well. Kanaan has led every year at Pocono and he has started in the top ten four of five years but he has finished outside the top ten three times. His 147 laps led is the second most led at Pocono since IndyCar returned in 2013 with only Power's 175 laps led ahead of Kanaan in that category. A.J. Foyt won four times at Pocono and Foyt's 67th and final IndyCar victory came at the track on June 21, 1981.
Aero Adjustments and Weather
In response to the racing in the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar has introduced a front wing extension in hopes of increasing downforce to the front of the cars and decrease the aero push felt when cars are in traffic. The modification should help cars with understeer.
One other change from the Indianapolis 500 will be temperature. This year's 102nd running of the famed race occurred in sunny and near-record heat with the entirety of the race occurring with temperatures in the lows 90s. The forecast for Long Pond, Pennsylvania for Sunday is most cloudy conditions and highs in the low 70s.
The cooler temperatures should allow for more grip, less cars sliding around and the conditions should be more optimal for passing.
Fast Facts
This will be the 13th IndyCar race to take place on August 19th and first since Bruno Junqueira won at Road America in 2001. It was Junqueira's first career victory. Michael Andretti finished second that day with Adrian Fernández rounding out the podium. Scott Dixon was the fourth-place finisher.
Danny Sullivan won at Pocono on August 19, 1984.
This year's race occurs on the 43rd anniversary of Mark Donohue's passing following an accident in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Charlie Kimball finished second in the 2013 Pocono race and since then his average finish at the track is 15th. Last year was the first time Kimball finished on the lead lap at Pocono since 2013.
Zach Veach has yet to finish on the lead lap in the first five oval starts of his career.
Matheus Leist has retired from three of the last five races.
Max Chilton has finished outside the top twenty in the last two races. The only other time he has finished outside the top twenty in consecutive races was both Belle Isle races in 2016. Chilton has not finished on the lead lap in an oval race since last year's Indianapolis 500.
Pietro Fittipaldi's grandfather Emerson held the Pocono track record from 1989 to 2013 with a lap at 211.715 MPH that won him the pole position for the 1989 race. Emerson Fittipaldi's best finish at Pocono came in his first start at the track when he started and finished seventh in 1984. He would retire from his next four starts at the track.
Conor Daly will drive the #88 Harding Racing Chevrolet this weekend. This will be his third Pocono start. Last year, Daly finished 14th and on the lead lap. It is so far his only lead lap finish on an oval in his IndyCar career.
The Pocono winner has gone on to win the championship six times. Those drivers are Joe Leonard in 1972, A.J. Foyt in 1975, Tom Sneva in 1977, A.J. Foyt in 1979, Rick Mears in 1982 and Scott Dixon in 2013.
Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden and Will Power are the only three drivers to have completed all 960 laps since IndyCar returned to Pocono in 2013.
The average starting position for a Pocono winner is 5.333 with a median of 3.5.
Since 2013, the average starting position for a Pocono winner is 7.8 with a median of five.
Since 2013, the driver that has led the most laps has not won at Pocono. Dating back to the CART-era, the last time the driver who led the most laps won at Pocono was Rick Mears in 1987 when he led 80 laps.
Eleven laps is the fewest laps led by a Pocono winner and it A.J. Foyt did it in 1973.
That 1973 race is the only Pocono race to have a pass on the final lap. Roger McCluskey ran out of fuel while leading allowing Foyt to take the victory.
The average number of lead changes in a Pocono race is 19.52 with a median of 17.
The average number of cautions in a Pocono race is 6.826 with a median of seven. The average number of caution laps is 38.608 with a median of 36.
Possible Milestones:
Chip Ganassi Racing is one victory away from tying Newman-Haas Racing for second all-time in team victories in IndyCar with 107 victories.
Sébastien Bourdais is one top five finish away from 75 career top five finishes.
Marco Andretti is one top ten finish away from 100 career top ten finishes.
Sébastien Bourdais is one top five finish away from 75 career top five finishes.
Marco Andretti is one top ten finish away from 100 career top ten finishes.
Ryan Hunter-Reay needs to lead eight laps to surpass Tomas Scheckter for 31st all-time in laps led.
Takuma Sato needs to lead 23 laps to reach the 500 laps led milestone.
Graham Rahal needs to lead 21 laps to reach the 400 laps led milestone.
Alexander Rossi needs to lead 45 laps to reach the 300 laps led milestone.
Charlie Kimball needs to lead 37 laps to reach the 200 laps led milestone.
Predictions
Alexander Rossi makes it two consecutive victories and Tony Kanaan finishes on the podium while Scott Dixon finishes in the top five. Rossi does not lead the most laps. A Penske car starts on pole position and both Ed Carpenter Racing entries start in the top ten. At least two drivers get their first top ten finishes of the season. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has both cars start outside the top ten but one will finish in the top eight. Zach Veach finishes on the lead lap. At least one rookie retires from the race. Sleeper: Spencer Pigot.
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