The final street course and the penultimate round the Izod IndyCar Championship will take place on the street of Baltimore. Ryan Briscoe won last week at Sonoma holding off his teammate Will Power who dominated the race. Power extended his points lead over Ryan Hunter-Reay to thirty-six points. If Will Power has a point lead greater than forty-three points after Baltimore he will have clinched the title heading into Fontana.
Junqueira In for Newgarden
Josef Newgarden broke his finger in that crash with Sebastien Bourdais at Sonoma. It will require surgery and Bruno Junqueira will return to IndyCar this weekend for Sarah Fisher-Hartman Racing. We saw Junqueira at Indianapolis last year where he was replaced by Ryan Hunter-Reay in the unpopular, Foyt-Andretti deal to get the American into the race. Junqueira last start was at Indianapolis in 2010 and his last road or street course race was the non-points race at Surfers Paradise in 2008. This year, Junqueira has been racing in the American Le Mans Series.
Track Changes
The chicane on the front straightaway has been removed and the turn five, six, seven section around pit in has been remodeled.
No Delay
The push-2-pass delay has been removed after two races. The delay was five seconds at Mid-Ohio and three and a half seconds at Sonoma. The delay was not well received well by the drivers, teams or the fans.
Iowa Set For 2013
IndyCar will be heading back to Iowa in 2013 on June 21-22.
Predictions
I will be honest, I want to see the Championship come down to Fontana, but that looks unlikely. I think Hunter-Reay will finish ahead of Power and keeps his hope alive. With that said, I think Sebastien Bourdais has a great weekend after his hard hit and steals a win. Graham Rahal has a great weekend and gets a podium. Dixon and Castroneves will be eliminated from the championship hunt.
Sleeper: Takuma Sato.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Come On Alex!
What we as fans would give to go back, prevent the split and allow guys like Greg Moore and Alex Zanardi run the Indianapolis 500? Sadly, we can't go back and Greg is no longer with us but there is some hope for Zanardi. Though he lost his legs in Germany back in September 2001, that did not keep Zanardi from racing. Two years later he returned to EuroSpeedway Lausitz and completed the thirteen laps his had left. These weren't parade laps, he gave it his all and his fastest of the thirteen laps would have put him fifth on the grid for that race in 2003.
Thanks to hand controls, Zanardi would go on and race in the World Touring Car Championship for BMW from 2005-2009. Over that time, he won four races and scored ten podiums. In 2006 the BMW Sauber Formula One team gave him a test at the Valencia Circuit. Since leaving the WTCC, Zanardi has been working on hand cycling and will be competing in the Paralympics which opened today.
In an Autosport article, Zanardi came out saying he would like to return to racing on a top level, whether it be in the DTM or the Indianapolis 500. The DTM ride very well could be lined up with BMW since they rejoined the series this year. As for Indianapolis, Zanardi came up with the hypothetical that if Morris Nunn were to come to him with a ride he would consider it. Mo Nunn has been out of American Open-Wheel Racing for a while now, but the man Zanardi won his CART titles with, Chip Ganassi isn't going anywhere.
Would he give Zanardi a ride? Only one way to find out but as race fans we should be encouraging someone to give Alex Zanardi the opportunity. Some think Zanardi shouldn't risk anymore but he would not be the first to come back from a serious accident. Davey Hamilton returned after his terrible accident. Kenny Bräck returned after his near fatal accident. Gary Bettenhausen had his left arm paralyzed in an accident in 1974 and continued racing until the early 1990s. Those who have followed Zanardi all this time know his wife may not approve, but Indianapolis is the last frontier for Zanardi to cover. He won in the heyday of CART, he raced in Formula One, won in Touring Cars. Indianapolis is the last thing on the list.
And the support behind Zanardi would be like never before. From Vasser to Franchitti, Kanaan to Papis, everyone would back Zanardi and help him where he needed it. And what fan would not like to see Zanardi get his shot at Indianapolis? It would definitely turn a few heads, not just in the United States but around the world. Come on Alex! Come run Indianapolis!
Thanks to hand controls, Zanardi would go on and race in the World Touring Car Championship for BMW from 2005-2009. Over that time, he won four races and scored ten podiums. In 2006 the BMW Sauber Formula One team gave him a test at the Valencia Circuit. Since leaving the WTCC, Zanardi has been working on hand cycling and will be competing in the Paralympics which opened today.
In an Autosport article, Zanardi came out saying he would like to return to racing on a top level, whether it be in the DTM or the Indianapolis 500. The DTM ride very well could be lined up with BMW since they rejoined the series this year. As for Indianapolis, Zanardi came up with the hypothetical that if Morris Nunn were to come to him with a ride he would consider it. Mo Nunn has been out of American Open-Wheel Racing for a while now, but the man Zanardi won his CART titles with, Chip Ganassi isn't going anywhere.
Would he give Zanardi a ride? Only one way to find out but as race fans we should be encouraging someone to give Alex Zanardi the opportunity. Some think Zanardi shouldn't risk anymore but he would not be the first to come back from a serious accident. Davey Hamilton returned after his terrible accident. Kenny Bräck returned after his near fatal accident. Gary Bettenhausen had his left arm paralyzed in an accident in 1974 and continued racing until the early 1990s. Those who have followed Zanardi all this time know his wife may not approve, but Indianapolis is the last frontier for Zanardi to cover. He won in the heyday of CART, he raced in Formula One, won in Touring Cars. Indianapolis is the last thing on the list.
And the support behind Zanardi would be like never before. From Vasser to Franchitti, Kanaan to Papis, everyone would back Zanardi and help him where he needed it. And what fan would not like to see Zanardi get his shot at Indianapolis? It would definitely turn a few heads, not just in the United States but around the world. Come on Alex! Come run Indianapolis!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Sonoma: First Impressions
1. I feel terrible for Tagliani because I bet he didn't mean to take out Hunter-Reay but now everybody needs Power to struggle at Baltimore if they want a shot at the championship, and it's hard to see that happening.
1a. Tagliani did drive in pretty deep and had a massive lock up. No doubt he was in the wrong but these things happen. Sucks for Hunter-Reay. He really hasn't done much wrong this year. A few mechanical failure but no mistakes from him. He won the pole at Edmonton but since the grid penalty for that engine change things haven't gone his way.
2. As I said in a Tweet, Sonoma, your track changes did not work. Please try (just use the sports car course already) next year. Thank you.
3. Crowd looked really good. You had three Olympic gold medalist, the mayor of Sacramento who was a pretty good player in the NBA and the CEO of Twitter at the race. Not bad.
4. Thank God we had a caution and thank God Newgarden and Bourdais are alright.
5. Ryan Briscoe is thrown under the bus a lot and most of it isn't deserved. It was nice to see him win today.
6. Great race by Rubinho.
7. We need Ferris Wheels at more races. Just a random thought. Makes the race look festive.
8. Chevrolet wrapped up the manufactures championship with the win this weekend. It would be pretty cool if we saw Chevrolet commercials bragging about that.
9. Stinks that their are only two races remaining but it isn't all bad. Baltimore was a good race last year and five hundred miles at Fontana is a good way to end the season.
10. This race was pretty lackadaisical but was still light years ahead of Belle Isle.
1a. Tagliani did drive in pretty deep and had a massive lock up. No doubt he was in the wrong but these things happen. Sucks for Hunter-Reay. He really hasn't done much wrong this year. A few mechanical failure but no mistakes from him. He won the pole at Edmonton but since the grid penalty for that engine change things haven't gone his way.
2. As I said in a Tweet, Sonoma, your track changes did not work. Please try (just use the sports car course already) next year. Thank you.
3. Crowd looked really good. You had three Olympic gold medalist, the mayor of Sacramento who was a pretty good player in the NBA and the CEO of Twitter at the race. Not bad.
4. Thank God we had a caution and thank God Newgarden and Bourdais are alright.
5. Ryan Briscoe is thrown under the bus a lot and most of it isn't deserved. It was nice to see him win today.
6. Great race by Rubinho.
7. We need Ferris Wheels at more races. Just a random thought. Makes the race look festive.
8. Chevrolet wrapped up the manufactures championship with the win this weekend. It would be pretty cool if we saw Chevrolet commercials bragging about that.
9. Stinks that their are only two races remaining but it isn't all bad. Baltimore was a good race last year and five hundred miles at Fontana is a good way to end the season.
10. This race was pretty lackadaisical but was still light years ahead of Belle Isle.
Morning Warm-Up: Sonoma 2012
Will Power won his third consecutive pole at Sonoma yesterday as he looks for his third consecutive win at the track and to extend his points lead over Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon. Ryan Briscoe will start second, Sebastien Bourdais and Castroneves make up row two. The Target Chip Ganassi Racing guys will start fifth and sixth, Dixon ahead of Franchitti.
Hunter-Reay just missed the Firestone Fast Six and will roll off from seventh with Alex Tagliani on row four as well. Simon Pagenaud will start ninth and James Hinchcliffe will round out the top ten. Justin Wilson qualified tenth but will have to serve a ten grid spot penalty for an engine change. Others serving penalties for engine changes are Sebastien Saavedra dating back to Indianapolis, he will betwenty-third on the grid, Takuma Sato, who is on his sixth engine this weekend, will start twenty-sixth and Simona de Silvestro will be on her seventh Lotus engine at Sonoma and will start twenty-seventh. Other notable drivers are Rubens Barrichello who will start eleventh, Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal will be twelfth and thirteenth respectively, Tony Kanaan is sixteenth, Oriol Servia is eighteenth and Charlie Kimball with start twentieth in his first race back from his hand injury.
Some Sonoma facts, this is the ninth race at Sonoma Raceway in the history of American Open-Wheel racing. The furthest a winner has come from is fifth, that was Scott Dixon in 2007. The last four races have been won from pole position. The first races were won from third position, Dan Gurney in 1970 and Tony Kanaan in 2005 and Marco Andretti won from second position in 2006.
Hopefully the changes to the race track will allow for more passing as they are attended to do so. Coverage for the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma will begin at 4:00pm ET. Green flag will be around 4:42pm ET.
Hunter-Reay just missed the Firestone Fast Six and will roll off from seventh with Alex Tagliani on row four as well. Simon Pagenaud will start ninth and James Hinchcliffe will round out the top ten. Justin Wilson qualified tenth but will have to serve a ten grid spot penalty for an engine change. Others serving penalties for engine changes are Sebastien Saavedra dating back to Indianapolis, he will betwenty-third on the grid, Takuma Sato, who is on his sixth engine this weekend, will start twenty-sixth and Simona de Silvestro will be on her seventh Lotus engine at Sonoma and will start twenty-seventh. Other notable drivers are Rubens Barrichello who will start eleventh, Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal will be twelfth and thirteenth respectively, Tony Kanaan is sixteenth, Oriol Servia is eighteenth and Charlie Kimball with start twentieth in his first race back from his hand injury.
Some Sonoma facts, this is the ninth race at Sonoma Raceway in the history of American Open-Wheel racing. The furthest a winner has come from is fifth, that was Scott Dixon in 2007. The last four races have been won from pole position. The first races were won from third position, Dan Gurney in 1970 and Tony Kanaan in 2005 and Marco Andretti won from second position in 2006.
Hopefully the changes to the race track will allow for more passing as they are attended to do so. Coverage for the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma will begin at 4:00pm ET. Green flag will be around 4:42pm ET.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Let's Run Two
I was mentioned during the week that the Izod IndyCar Series is considering running doubleheaders at road and street course events. The planned format would be practice and qualifying on Friday with a race Saturday and a race Sunday. Immediately though a few problems came to mind. One being television. Would a network show each race live or one race taped delayed before the second one? Another problem would be people choosing one race over the other. Maybe a family decides Saturday over Sunday and the goal to get people in both days fails.
What if they scheduled doubleheaders the way they did the Twin 275's at Texas last year. But instead of a half hour of empty race track, run the Lights race and package it as one large television window like NBC Sports Net was doing previously. Example: Run the first IndyCar race at 12:30pm, that race takes about an hour. Then at 1:45pm run the Lights, that race could be over in 45 minutes and by 2:45pm the final race can begin. I would be for an inversion of the top ten from race one to decide the grid for race two. As for points, I would not mind if they awarded full points for each race or if they gave away half points.
Also, if we are doing doubleheaders on road and street courses then we can definitely do heat races and/or twin races on all ovals except Indianapolis. Iowa has the format set perfectly. Milwaukee can also run heats. I would like to see the Twin 275's at Texas but if they choose to do heat races and run one 550KM race, I am fine with that. Fontana can do heats before their five hundred mile race.
But with heat races should come points. I suggested giving 12 points for winning the third heat race, 8 for second, 7 for third, 6 for fourth, 5 for fifth, 4 for sixth, 3 for seventh, 2 for eighth and either a point for the winners of the first two heat races or, if they are allowed to transfer to the final heat, 1 point for ninth and tenth position. This gives the fans more racing at the track and on TV. A fan shows up to Sonoma, sees an IndyCar race, then the Lights before the IndyCar main event or a fan at home turns on his TV, sees the IndyCar race, leaves the Lights race on and then the main event. Will this happen? Maybe, maybe not but it's just some brainstorming.
What if they scheduled doubleheaders the way they did the Twin 275's at Texas last year. But instead of a half hour of empty race track, run the Lights race and package it as one large television window like NBC Sports Net was doing previously. Example: Run the first IndyCar race at 12:30pm, that race takes about an hour. Then at 1:45pm run the Lights, that race could be over in 45 minutes and by 2:45pm the final race can begin. I would be for an inversion of the top ten from race one to decide the grid for race two. As for points, I would not mind if they awarded full points for each race or if they gave away half points.
Also, if we are doing doubleheaders on road and street courses then we can definitely do heat races and/or twin races on all ovals except Indianapolis. Iowa has the format set perfectly. Milwaukee can also run heats. I would like to see the Twin 275's at Texas but if they choose to do heat races and run one 550KM race, I am fine with that. Fontana can do heats before their five hundred mile race.
But with heat races should come points. I suggested giving 12 points for winning the third heat race, 8 for second, 7 for third, 6 for fourth, 5 for fifth, 4 for sixth, 3 for seventh, 2 for eighth and either a point for the winners of the first two heat races or, if they are allowed to transfer to the final heat, 1 point for ninth and tenth position. This gives the fans more racing at the track and on TV. A fan shows up to Sonoma, sees an IndyCar race, then the Lights before the IndyCar main event or a fan at home turns on his TV, sees the IndyCar race, leaves the Lights race on and then the main event. Will this happen? Maybe, maybe not but it's just some brainstorming.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Track Walk: Sonoma 2012
The final permanent road course race of the season and the thirteenth round of the Izod IndyCar Season takes place at Sonoma Raceway in California. The GroPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma is the first race in three weeks after the cancellation of the China race back in the spring.
Changes
A few changes to the race track configuration this year. A tighter turn seven, widen bus stop and a long run down to the turn eleven hairpin. The race will also be extended ten laps from previous season to eighty-five laps. Other changes have to do with push-2-pass, with a shorter delay of three and a half seconds instead of five that was used at Mid-Ohio.
Additions
Dragon Racing announced Katherine Legge would return at Sonoma in her TrueCar sponsored Chevrolet and Sebastian Saavedra will run the same car he ran at Indianapolis with AFS and Andretti Autosport.
CART Revival
News of the week came on Sunday when Robin Miller dropped a bomb on Wind Tunnel stating four to five team owners are trying to purchase the IndyCar Series from the Hulman-George family. No names were made public. Over the past few days things have died down. People have been speculating that while some may want to buy the series, the series may not be for sale. We will probably hear more during the weekend.
2013 Schedule
IndyCar will be heading back to Texas next year along with St. Pete, Long Beach, Sao Paulo, Indianapolis, Toronto, Edmonton, Iowa, Barber, Houston, Milwaukee and Belle Isle. Sonoma and Fontana both have three year deals with their sponsors but nothing has been confirmed with IndyCar. Mid-Ohio and Baltimore have not been confirmed for 2013. Reportedly other interested venues are Pocono, Michigan, NOLA Motorsports Park with other rumors of races in Austin, a third race in Canada and Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil. It has come out that doubleheaders at road and street courses are being considered for next year. The schedule is tentatively set to be announced on September 1st.
2014 Indy Lights Chassis
In the last week, two groups have come forward with ideas for the new Indy Lights car. DeltaWing has made it known they would like to become the new Lights car, while ALMS team Dyson Racing, in partnership with former Lola employees have a design similar to the car Lola presented to become the new IndyCar back in 2010. The Dyson group has decided to call their proposed car the "Hulman" in honor of Tony Hulman and his family.
Predictions
The point standings will remain close. Power will come out with the lead but Hunter-Reay will remain in second, while Dixon jumps ahead of Castroneves for third. Franchitti has a good weekend, as does Hildebrand in his home race. I know I have taken him before and more than one occasion but I will take Hinchcliffe this weekend and if he does not win I will not pick him for the remainder of 2012. If not Hinchcliffe, Power is a smart pick. He has won the last two Sonoma races from pole. Sleeper: Sebastien Bourdais.
Changes
A few changes to the race track configuration this year. A tighter turn seven, widen bus stop and a long run down to the turn eleven hairpin. The race will also be extended ten laps from previous season to eighty-five laps. Other changes have to do with push-2-pass, with a shorter delay of three and a half seconds instead of five that was used at Mid-Ohio.
Additions
Dragon Racing announced Katherine Legge would return at Sonoma in her TrueCar sponsored Chevrolet and Sebastian Saavedra will run the same car he ran at Indianapolis with AFS and Andretti Autosport.
CART Revival
News of the week came on Sunday when Robin Miller dropped a bomb on Wind Tunnel stating four to five team owners are trying to purchase the IndyCar Series from the Hulman-George family. No names were made public. Over the past few days things have died down. People have been speculating that while some may want to buy the series, the series may not be for sale. We will probably hear more during the weekend.
2013 Schedule
IndyCar will be heading back to Texas next year along with St. Pete, Long Beach, Sao Paulo, Indianapolis, Toronto, Edmonton, Iowa, Barber, Houston, Milwaukee and Belle Isle. Sonoma and Fontana both have three year deals with their sponsors but nothing has been confirmed with IndyCar. Mid-Ohio and Baltimore have not been confirmed for 2013. Reportedly other interested venues are Pocono, Michigan, NOLA Motorsports Park with other rumors of races in Austin, a third race in Canada and Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil. It has come out that doubleheaders at road and street courses are being considered for next year. The schedule is tentatively set to be announced on September 1st.
2014 Indy Lights Chassis
In the last week, two groups have come forward with ideas for the new Indy Lights car. DeltaWing has made it known they would like to become the new Lights car, while ALMS team Dyson Racing, in partnership with former Lola employees have a design similar to the car Lola presented to become the new IndyCar back in 2010. The Dyson group has decided to call their proposed car the "Hulman" in honor of Tony Hulman and his family.
Predictions
The point standings will remain close. Power will come out with the lead but Hunter-Reay will remain in second, while Dixon jumps ahead of Castroneves for third. Franchitti has a good weekend, as does Hildebrand in his home race. I know I have taken him before and more than one occasion but I will take Hinchcliffe this weekend and if he does not win I will not pick him for the remainder of 2012. If not Hinchcliffe, Power is a smart pick. He has won the last two Sonoma races from pole. Sleeper: Sebastien Bourdais.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Owners Buying IndyCar?
On the August 19th edition of SPEED Channel's weekly show Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain, Robin Miller made public a rumor that a few current IndyCar team owners are trying to buy the series from the Speedway and the Hulman-George Family. He also made known that said team owners would remove Randy Bernard from CEO if they do purchase the series.
OK, I will be honest, this is a little knee jerk of a post. This was made known to the general public about ten minutes ago but it is an interesting and seems to be a never changing topic with American Open-Wheel Racing. The team owners want control of the series, they do not want to be told what to do even if it will save them money. Miller did not go into depth about who the team owners are but he said around five are working together.
We can speculate all we want about who the team owners are and then dig as to why they would want control but I am not going to do that tonight. After years are struggling with two series, finally unifying, and now trying to grow public attention and awareness of a series with a television deal that is less than favorable, the series is seeing the best on track action in years, the best field of drivers in years and more positivity than ever, I feel the general consensus WOULD NOT be in favor of a changing of the guard. CART was run by the team owners, and while it was all well and good for sometime, it ultimately ran itself under.
Not everything has been bullet-proof this season. From the grid penalties for engine changes to delaying aerokits again to the unpredictably high prices for spares, a lot of things have to be examined for 2013; but that is no reason to completely take over and clean house. Nobody is perfect and everybody, from the series to team owners, the manufactures to the drivers have to sit down together and discuss what has to change, why it has to change and what can be done to make it better. This is not CART. This sanctioning body has to listen to all key players involved and come to an understanding that is the best for the SERIES AS A WHOLE!
(Note: Not related to this post but I will be moving to Pittsburgh, Pa and was wondering if their are any public places in the Pittsburgh area where Formula One fans meet and watch the races together? My cable package will not have SPEED and I was wondering if their is a place where I can catch the races. You can let me know by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post or you can let me know on Twitter. My handle is @4theloveofindy. Thank you.)
OK, I will be honest, this is a little knee jerk of a post. This was made known to the general public about ten minutes ago but it is an interesting and seems to be a never changing topic with American Open-Wheel Racing. The team owners want control of the series, they do not want to be told what to do even if it will save them money. Miller did not go into depth about who the team owners are but he said around five are working together.
We can speculate all we want about who the team owners are and then dig as to why they would want control but I am not going to do that tonight. After years are struggling with two series, finally unifying, and now trying to grow public attention and awareness of a series with a television deal that is less than favorable, the series is seeing the best on track action in years, the best field of drivers in years and more positivity than ever, I feel the general consensus WOULD NOT be in favor of a changing of the guard. CART was run by the team owners, and while it was all well and good for sometime, it ultimately ran itself under.
Not everything has been bullet-proof this season. From the grid penalties for engine changes to delaying aerokits again to the unpredictably high prices for spares, a lot of things have to be examined for 2013; but that is no reason to completely take over and clean house. Nobody is perfect and everybody, from the series to team owners, the manufactures to the drivers have to sit down together and discuss what has to change, why it has to change and what can be done to make it better. This is not CART. This sanctioning body has to listen to all key players involved and come to an understanding that is the best for the SERIES AS A WHOLE!
(Note: Not related to this post but I will be moving to Pittsburgh, Pa and was wondering if their are any public places in the Pittsburgh area where Formula One fans meet and watch the races together? My cable package will not have SPEED and I was wondering if their is a place where I can catch the races. You can let me know by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post or you can let me know on Twitter. My handle is @4theloveofindy. Thank you.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)