One hundred and sixty-six IndyCar races were held over the 2010s in four different countries, 19 states, two provinces on 14 ovals, ten permanent/natural-terrain road courses and eight street/temporary courses.
There were some remarkable moments over these 169 races and a few events standout above others. The 2010s came us some moments we are going to talk about for years to come from some of IndyCar's most famed venues to other course that will only be in IndyCar's history book from this point onward.
We are going to look back at the ten best races from this decade.
10. 2012 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
What Happened: Every Chevrolet team took a ten-spot grid penalty for engine changes after the new twin-turbo Chevrolet V6 engine had shown some problems in test. These penalties led to one of the most mix grids in IndyCar history.
Ryan Briscoe and Will Power qualified first and second and started 11th and 12th.
Honda was spotted the first ten spots on the grid. Dario Franchitti qualified fourth and rolled off from first position. Franchitti was the only driver from the six drivers to make the final round of qualifying not to serve a grid penalty. Josef Newgarden moved up to second on the grid from eighth in qualifying.
What saw the driver responsible for the three previous IndyCar championships starting next to an American hopeful making his third IndyCar start led to a turn one accident after slight contact from Franchitti put Newgarden into the barrier.
The race saw a variety of strategies due to early cautions. Justin Wilson took the lead from Franchitti, Takuma Sato took the lead from Wilson when Wilson made a pit stop under the caution for a Sébastien Bourdais accident. Chevrolet would not lead a lap until lap 28 when Ryan Hunter-Reay clicked across the first during pit stops under the caution for the Marco Andretti-Graham Rahal incident, which saw Andretti get airborne.
These cautions played into the hands of the Chevrolet teams as the final 56 laps were under green flag conditions.
The rotation of leaders saw Will Power take the top spot with 15 laps to go after Simon Pagenaud mad his final stop. Power was stretching his fuel, as was Sato. Pagenaud meanwhile made the late charge to try and get back to the top spot. The Frenchman made significant ground on Power but the Australian beat him to the line by 0.868 seconds.
Hunter-Reay and Sato got together on the final lap. This earned Hunter-Reay a 30-second penalty, dropping him from third to sixth with James Hinchcliffe, Tony Kanaan and J.R. Hildebrand moving ahead of Hunter-Reay.
Chevrolet took five of the top six with Pagenaud being the lone Chevrolet in the mix.
How is it remembered: The race where the entire starting grid was shaken up and it ended up putting on a great race. There are people that look back on the grid penalty period in IndyCar and look at it with disgust but I don't think it was that bad and it added another layer to some of the events.
IndyCar needed a cost preventive measure to de-incentivize engine changes on a regular basis and it was a competitive balance. A team could not qualify on pole position and put in a fresh engine and get a leg up on the field. If you took a new engine you had to take a penalty. I don't think that was a bad thing.
Grid penalties gave us an unpredictable race like this one. When more than half the cars are going down the starting order the final result is not going to look like the starting result. There was a lot of movement and the Chevrolets worked to the front.
I think this was the race that eased some of our concerns about the DW12 chassis. It was not a processional race where those that took an engine penalty could not recover. Most of them did recover from starting further down the field. Power got the victory. Hunter-Reay was competitive. Seven of the top ten finishes started outside the top ten. Four of those seven started outside the top fifteen and three of those four finished in the top five.
This was also the race where any questions about Simon Pagenaud were answered. Outside of a few substitute appearances in 2011, Pagenaud had been out of single-seaters in 2007 and for almost five years was largely the dream hire for any car on the grid. He found great success in sports cars with the Acura LMP2 program and the Peugeot LMP1 program. He stepped back into a single-seater and showed not rust with Sam Schmidt's team, a relative IndyCar unknown.
9. 2018 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Race II at The Raceway on Belle Isle Park
What Happened: This race had an early caution when Spencer Pigot and Santino Ferrucci got together on lap one but the final 67 laps were run under green flag conditions and led to an interesting outcome.
It was the battle of the two-stoppers vs. the three-stoppers and Alexander Rossi led the two-stoppers from pole position, only passing up the lead during the pit cycles. This race was the long game and it was about what was going to happen at the end.
Ryan Hunter-Reay started tenth and after the three-stop strategy was erased in the Saturday race due to untimely cautions, Hunter-Reay had a second chance to make the three-stop strategy work and he stopped from the lead with 18 laps to go, returning to the racetrack eight-seconds behind his teammate Rossi.
Hunter-Reay proceeded to set fastest lap after fastest lap and run down his teammate, getting to Rossi's rear wing with ten laps to go. Under pressure, Hunter-Reay forced a mistake and Rossi locked up his tires into turn three, allowing Hunter-Reay to take the lead. Rossi blew a left front and had to limp back for a tire change.
Hunter-Reay cruised to victory, leading the final seven laps and finishing 11.355 seconds ahead of Will Power and Ed Jones. Other notable runs saw Tony Kanaan go from 22nd to seventh and Charlie Kimball go from 21st to seventh.
How is it remembered: Ryan Hunter-Reay's pace in the final stretch forcing Alexander Rossi into a costly error.
This was an incredible street course race when you consider some of the street course races IndyCar had seen at the start of the decade. It was also Belle Isle, a track people reviled. The 2010s should be remembered for a change in perception for Belle Isle. I am not saying every race is guaranteed to be tremendous but it is not the street course we saw in the CART days and in 2007 and 2008. It is a track where we see plenty of passing and we have seen some mixed up results with winners coming from out of nowhere.
You could not ask for more from this race. You had the conservative two-stop strategy vs. the aggressive three-stop strategy and in the closing laps they ended up nose-to-tail battling for the victory. This is what you want. You want multiple strategies bringing drivers to the same place.
In this case, Hunter-Reay forced a mistake and it was the behest of Rossi's 2018 season. There were many races in 2018 where he coughed up points. This one results did not cost him the championship but it did not help him in the end.
8. 2012 Grand Prix of Baltimore Presented by SRT at Baltimore Street Course
What Happened: The penultimate round of the 2012 IndyCar season brought the series to the streets of Baltimore and Ryan Hunter-Reay looked to keep his championship alive. Entering 36 points ahead of Hunter-Reay, Will Power was posed to take clinch the championship one race early and he started on pole position while Hunter-Reay was starting from tenth position.
The race started dry but a quick shower forced the cars to pit for wet tires, immediately throwing all strategies up on the air. Hunter-Reay stayed on the slick tires a little longer than Power and some of the other leads and made up ground.
Takuma Sato led a good portion of the race during the wet conditions but the race went through various cycles of leaders. After Sato, Simon Pagenaud took control on the lap 36 restart, going from sixth to first, and it appeared he would get his first career victory. Power retook the lead for a moment during the pit cycle. Ryan Briscoe took the lead on lap 58 and a caution came out on lap 65 to bunch up the field.
On the lap 69 restart, Hunter-Reay took the lead from Briscoe on a blindingly quick restart. Hunter-Reay had to hold on for one more restart with three laps to go and he not only took the victory but cut the deficit to Power down to 17 points after the Australian finished sixth.
How is it remembered: If you still had concerns about the DW12 chassis on street courses after Long Beach, this Baltimore race was fantastic and should have given you a sigh of relief.
Pagenaud's move from sixth to first, aided because IndyCar still used double-file restarts was a terrific move. If anything to make those moves Pagenaud made with so many other drivers around him in such a confined space is stunning. He kept it clean. He did not bump a fellow competitor or put anyone in the wall.
And Pagenaud didn't even win.
Hunter-Reay was a little more aggressive in a race where he had to be aggressive. He had to do all he could to make sure he was in striking distance at Fontana. He rolled the dice in the drizzle and gained some ground and when he had a chance to take the lead he attacked and put himself into the top spot.
7. 2016 Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway
What Happened: Weepers pushed the race to Sunday and at the end of the first stint saw a collision between Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden in turn four. The accident broke Newgarden's clavicle and wrist and brought out the caution.
As cars cycled behind the pace car, rain clouds moved in and the rains returned. With rains scheduled for the rest of the day and most of Monday, and with a few teams and drivers needing to get to Le Mans, the race was pushed to August 27th, an open Saturday night.
The race restarted with James Hinchcliffe in the lead and the Canadian dominated most of the night. The restarted race had a 139-lap run that saw Ed Carpenter running down Hinchcliffe but Carpenter and Scott Dixon got together in turn one. Dixon's day was over but Carpenter continued. Carpenter challenged for the lead on the restart but Hinchcliffe would retake the point while Carpenter fell back. A bobble in turn sent Carpenter around ending his race.
The final caution for Jack Hawksworth and Mikhail Aleshin getting together set up a nine-lap sprint for the victory between Hinchcliffe, Graham Rahal, Tony Kanaan and Simon Pagenaud. All the drivers diced in the closing laps and an fake to the outside opened the inside for Rahal to get ahead of Hinchcliffe into turn three.
In the dash to the line, Rahal held off Hinchcliffe by 0.008 seconds, the fifth-closest finish in IndyCar history, and 0.0903 seconds covering Rahal to Kanaan in third.
How is it remembered: This is the race that will remember for taking over two months to complete but it was a breath-taking event in August.
Hinchcliffe led a significant portion of the race but there was plenty of passing throughout the field. Hinchcliffe was always going to be in the fight for the victory but it was a matter of who would be the challenger. It could have been any one of seven or eight drivers. It could have been Hinchcliffe vs. Dixon vs. Castroneves. It could have been Hinchcliffe vs. Carpenter vs. Kanaan.
In the end it was Hinchcliffe vs. Rahal vs. Kanaan vs. Pagenaud and in that closing dash, where any of those four drivers could have put a wheel wrong and this race could have ended under caution, these four danced around each other. It was a respectful finish. One driver was not going to be muscled out of the way but rather opened up and exposed.
That is what Rahal did in the final lap. He got Hinchcliffe to guess incorrectly and open the bottom. This allowed Rahal to irk out a victory at the line.
It should be noted that Hinchcliffe's car failed post-race inspection for being too low.
6. 2017 ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway
What Happened: A stunning race that started with Tony Kanaan going from fourth to first at the start and allowed him to lead the first 11 laps. The first of 42 lead changes, a Pocono record, occurred on lap 12 with Alexander Rossi taking the top spot.
There was constant passing in this race. No driver led more than 24 laps at a time. From lap 133 to lap 144, Kanaan and Graham Rahal alternated leading lap in what was a scintillating back-and-forth.
Though it seemed to be a revolving door at the front, it always appeared either Rossi or Ryan Hunter-Reay would come out on top but in the closing stages an alternate pit strategy allowed Will Power to leap to the front in what was an otherwise ho-hum race for the Australian.
During the final round of pit stops, Rossi and Newgarden cycled to the lead and Marco Andretti tried to stretch his fuel and end up in the fight. Andretti's strategy was blown in the pit stall when the fuel nozzle did not engage cleanly. This set up a ten-lap battle between Power, Newgarden and Rossi.
Power made sure to break the draft from his teammate and Rossi could not get around Newgarden. After 500 miles, 0.877 seconds covered the top four of Power, Newgarden, Rossi and Simon Pagenaud.
How is it remembered: Mesmerizing.
The way this race was run it was a thing of beauty. The passes were artistic to watch. Every move was timed out. It was easier to make a move into turn one. It is wide and you had a 0.75-mile runway into the corner but the passes into turn three required much more skill. It is a shorter straightaway and a tighter, less-banked corner but drivers still made it work.
The Kanaan-Rahal battle was incredible. How many consecutive laps could they trade the lead? It was like a rally in tennis, the kind where the crowd looses it in what should otherwise be elegant atmosphere. You were rooting for it not to stop. You wanted it to continue for every lap.
This was also a race where Team Penske stole it because Team Penske is the best team on the grid. Will Power wasn't having a great race but found an audible to victory. The strategy choice inserted him into the battle and provided a three-way fight with Newgarden and Rossi. Rossi appeared to have the most pace of the three but struggled to get ahead of Newgarden and Newgarden could not capitalize on the draft to take the lead from his teammate.
5. 2013 Indianapolis 500
What Happened: A record-obliterating 68 lead changes and a record speed of 187.433 MPH.
It was a race where anyone of ten drivers could have won, from pole-sitter Ed Carpenter to IndyCar debutant Carlos Muñoz, and those two drivers were the top two starters. It was a race of constant lead changes and moves throughout the field.
There were three single-car incidents in the first 56 laps but 133 consecutive green flag laps followed. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti each led their fair share of laps. Though he started 12th, Tony Kanaan quickly found himself mixing it up with the leaders.
A.J. Allmendinger was in the mix in his Indianapolis 500 debut. Allmendinger's race was upended with a loose seatbelt. It set him back and he recovered to finish seventh, the second-best Team Penske entry on the road, one spot behind Hélio Castroneves but Allmendinger was the top Penske car all race.
In the final 100 miles, there was no clear favorite to take the victory. It was anyone's race between the likes of Hunter-Reay, Andretti and Kanaan. Graham Rahal brought out the caution on lap 194 with Hunter-Reay in the lead. On the restart with three laps to go, Kanaan and Muñoz both bounced and got ahead of Hunter-Reay. Moments later, Dario Franchitti was in the turn one barrier and the race would not be restarted.
Tony Kanaan got his elusive Indianapolis 500 victory ahead of debutant Muñoz, Hunter-Reay, Andretti and Justin Wilson, the top Honda finisher in fifth.
How is it remembered: It is the race that shattered our expectations of what an Indianapolis 500 could be.
It is the fastest Indianapolis 500 in the event's history. It has 68 lead changes, the most in Indianapolis 500 history. We had never seen a race like this. Not even the Hanford Device-era Michigan and Fontana races held a candle to this.
This was Indianapolis. It is a place of speed but never before this level of passing. We had seen the record for most lead changes in Indianapolis 500 history fall the year before, a record that had stood for 52 years, but this race has turned a 30-lead change race into the norm at 16th and Georgetown, which is dangerous in terms of perception, but it is what the DW12-era has been from day one.
It is a race no one could have predicted in their wildest dreams. I think we all expected the 2013 race to match the 2012 race. I think if you had offered the fans a race that had 40 lead changes they would have taken it but 68? The record was doubled in one year.
Every race in the DW12-era has at least matched the pre-DW12-era record of 29 lead changes set in 1960.
And to have this race also break the 23-year old record for the fastest Indianapolis 500 to boot almost set the tone of what this decade was going to be. This race surpassed the speed of a time that a large following adores. People long for the days of track records and hold the 1990s as some lost time period as if every year since 1996 has been part of a de-evolution of the series.
This race showed there was a path other than this lost idea of an IndyCar that remained unified through the 1990s and into the 21st century.
And this was race that fan favorite Tony Kanaan took the victory. Kanaan was a modern-day Sam Hanks and Tom Sneva, driver that had long had success at Indianapolis Motor Speedway but had yet to make it to victory lane. It was Kanaan's finest hour.
4. 2013 Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 Presented by Nestlé at São Paulo Street Course
What Happened: IndyCar found one of the greatest street courses ever created in São Paulo and it produced frenetic races. The 2013 affair was no different.
The race started with Ryan Hunter-Reay and the beloved Tony Kanaan trading the lead back and forth in the early laps. A few cautions cycled a few different drivers to the lead, including Sébastien Bourdais and Takuma Sato, before Hunter-Reay and Kanaan got back to the front.
It appeared the race would be one of Hunter-Reay or Kanaan taking the victory and Marco Andretti was lurking as a potential spoiler. Unfortunately for Kanaan, his engine expired on the front straightaway, bringing his car to a halt in front of the 40,000 adoring and heartbroken fans.
This engine failure mixed up the field and another caution for a Justin Wilson accident set up for Sato and Josef Newgarden to be the top two drivers with 17 laps to go. James Hinchcliffe ran in the top five all race and clawed his way into the fight.
Newgarden appeared to have a stronger car than Sato but could not get ahead of the Japanese driver. Sato did not make it easy for Newgarden into the final hairpin corner with what appeared to be constant blocks but no penalty was called from race control. Newgarden's tires were shot after multiple attempts and it allowed Hinchcliffe to take second.
Hinchcliffe found the same difficulty getting ahead of Sato and the final lap started with Sato, Hinchcliffe and Newgarden all under a blanket. Hinchcliffe fended off Newgarden and turned his attention to Sato. Getting back into range, Hinchcliffe again made a run on Sato into the run hairpin but out maneuvered Sato with an over under move to take the lead and yank a victory out of Sato's hands. Behind them, Marco Andretti and Oriol Servià charged down Newgarden and took third and fourth.
How is it remembered: One of the greatest street course races on one of the greatest street courses ver produced.
At the time, we didn't know this was going to be São Paulo's final time on the IndyCar schedule but what a way to go out on a bang.
It felt like a MotoGP race with three or four competitors fighting for it in the end and when one attempt didn't pay off it allowed for another driver to end the fight and take it to the leader.
This was Newgarden's first great race. His rookie season was rough; as he did not pick up a top ten finish despite showing tons of pace. Newgarden really needed to show us something and he fought Sato lap after lap. This was after Newgarden started 25th out of 25 cars. It was definitely our first glimpse that Newgarden was going be a competitive IndyCar driver even though it did not pan out into a podium finish on this day.
Was Newgarden unfortunate that Sato did not get called for a block? Probably but if IndyCar had told Sato to move over, à la what IndyCar did at Belle Isle in 2008 when Hélio Castroneves was told to move aside after blocking Justin Wilson and Wilson went on to take the victory, Newgarden might have won instead of finishing fifth but this race isn't in the top ten races of the decade if that happened. This race might not even be in the top half of the races of the decade.
How much race control gets involved in a race is up for debate but race control's inaction even if it should have stepped in allowed for the finish we saw, the three-way battle between Sato, Newgarden and Hinchcliffe.
It ended with a tremendous over-under move to give Hinchcliffe the victory. The Brazilian contingent went bonkers. Even Sato was enthusiastically applauding Hinchcliffe's move on the cool down lap. What a sign of respect from a fellow competitor and Hinchcliffe deserved it. He had one final chance to get a pass done and made it stick without running Sato into the barrier. Hinchcliffe had better grip on exit and left Sato in his dust.
It was a great treat and it is sad that it is our last memory of São Paulo.
3. 2019 Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
What Happened: A caution-free race with an alternate tire that would not last for all but one driver and it allowed for an incredible 90 laps with an ending that did not disappoint.
Will Power led from the start but the decision to use a two-stop strategy and go from alternate tires to primary tires backfired. On top of that, Felix Rosenqvist ended up being quicker and took the top spot. He even called an audible and switched to a three-stop strategy when he had gotten the most out of the alternate tire. The switch did take Rosenqvist out of the lead but it was a better position than if he was a two-stopper.
Scott Dixon was the one driver to make the alternate tire work over an entire stint. Dixon started on primary tires and it moved him up the order. With the alternate tire working for Dixon he ended up taking the lead and opened a gap to make his final stop without pressure from behind. Dixon's team made the decision to double up on the alternate tire to end the race and while the second stint worked, the third stint saw Dixon struggle and Rosenqvist went on a hunt.
The closing laps saw the gap between the Ganassi teammates vanish and on the final lap, Rosenqvist had a chance to make a run. The two drivers nearly got into each other in the keyhole but both stayed on the road. Rosenqvist remained in the wake of Dixon's skating Dallara through the final corners. The Swede made one final move for the lead coming to the checkered flag but Dixon held on for victory by 0.093 seconds.
Behind the leaders, lapped traffic allowed Josef Newgarden to make a move on Ryan Hunter-Reay for third into the keyhole but that move did not pay off from Newgarden and he spun into the gravel, dropping him to 14th. Elsewhere, Spencer Pigot and Graham Rahal used the three-stop strategy to get top ten finishes and Sébastien Bourdais climbed up to 11th after a spin early from contact with Colton Herta.
How is it remembered: Almost being the changing of the guard.
Dixon isn't going anywhere but Rosenqvist showed why Chip Ganassi Racing is set up for the 2020s. Dixon will soon leave us. He turns 40 next years. We are watching the final days of Scott Dixon. I could go until he is 50 but I am not expecting to see Dixon in an IndyCar come 2030.
Rosenqvist is waiting in the wings for that top seat. He has what it takes to live up to the championship culture at Ganassi. He might have lost on this day to Dixon but he showed it will not be long until he is a regular resident on the top step of the podium.
Look... the top three finishers started eighth, sixth and tenth. It was a caution-free race. The margin of victory was less than a tenth of a second. And this all happened at Mid-Ohio! There are certain races that do not need a long explanation as to why they are great.
If I had told you in 2010 that all the above would happen in one Mid-Ohio race you would not have believed me. This race encapsulates what the DW12 has done to IndyCar. It has turned Mid-Ohio into a spectacle.
2. 2015 MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway
What Happened: A historic race that saw 80 lead changes and there was not a moment of idleness in this race.
There was action from the drop of the green flag with drivers moving up and down the field every lap. The width of Fontana allowed cars to run three lines, and sometimes four and other times five lines, into the corner and down the straightaways.
It was a rotating door at the front of the field and at any one point another two or three drivers were the clear front-runners but it never lasted for long. Early, it seemed like Tony Kanaan or Marco Andretti were going to be the best of the field. A little later Sage Karam climbed up there and appeared to be positioned for a stunning result.
A little after 100 miles, it was Takuma Sato out front. The Penske cars of Will Power and Hélio Castroneves traded the lead after that. Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe were running at the front.
Graham Rahal wasn't mentioned until lap 90 and he took the lead for a moment under caution. Kanaan and Andretti found themselves back at the front with Juan Pablo Montoya. Simon Pagenaud started on pole position and didn't lead a lap until lap 154. After three laps in front, Carlos Muñoz took the lead from Pagenaud. Ryan Hunter-Reay cycled to the front at lap 203.
It was anybody's race.
The first 135 laps were run under green flag conditions before a few cautions. Castroneves spun off exiting turn two after Power and Briscoe squeezed Castroneves. The Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing cars of Ed Carpenter and Josef Newgarden got together exiting turn four not long after that. There were two cautions for debris that kept long green flag runs from developing.
The first debris came from Rahal after he left with the fuel nozzle still in the car. However, this did not lead to a penalty for Rahal.
These shorter green flag runs increased the intensity and the urgency. From the green flag on lap 199 to the caution on lap 221 for debris, the lead changed 14 times in 22 laps.
With ten laps to go, Power and Sato made contact and both cars were eliminated. Power had been leading four laps before the accident and his exit saw Briscoe, Rahal, Andretti and Kanaan at the front. Rahal had taken the lead from Briscoe just before the caution for the Power-Sato accident.
The red flag came out to preserve a chance to get one final restart and it came with three laps to go. Rahal had to hold off Kanaan and a late charge from Andretti, who took tires before going green. Coming to the white flag, Hunter-Reay was pinched between Karam and Montoya and Hunter-Reay spun into Briscoe sending Briscoe into a somersault and nosedive into the infield grass. Both drivers were unharmed.
Rahal took his second career victory over seven years after his maiden triumph in the wet at St. Petersburg.
How is it remembered: It is mistakenly remembered as a pack racing but after going back and watching it that was far from the case.
What people remember are the final restarts and in a three-lap dash or nine laps of green flag racing the field was tight but for the 135-lap green flag run the field did spread out. There was close racing and drivers could slipstream up on another but it wasn't pack racing in the way that IndyCar raced at Chicagoland, Texas and other 1.5-mile ovals with the previous Dallara chassis.
I remember I wrote at the time that it was a race that didn't feel like it was approaching the record for most lead changes and it was and did break it. It wasn't comical. Sometimes we worry about passing being too easy and 80 lead changes is quite a bit but I think what took our attention away from the number of lead changes were passes everywhere else in the field. There was passing everywhere and guys coming and going. One driver would get to the front and 15 laps later would be in eighth after running second. You really had to stay on it.
This falls in the same category as São Paulo in that it is unfortunate this was the final hooray for Fontana. If Fontana could have found a steady date it would still be on the schedule. The racing was superb and the crowds in 2012 and 2013 were encouraging but moving the race into the heat of the summer turned people away.
1. 2014 Indianapolis 500
What Happened: Arguably, one of the greatest IndyCar races ever. The first 149 laps were under green flag conditions and it was like having a gun to the back of your head and a knife to your throat simultaneously.
While only having 34 lead changes compared to 68 lead changes the year before, the 2014 race was just as thrilling.
It was a race that started with it looking like one of James Hinchcliffe or Ed Carpenter taking the victory. Then Will Power entered the fray and Hélio Castroneves made it feel like we were watching his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory.
Ryan Hunter-Reay started 19th but it did not take long for him to get into the top ten. Hunter-Reay made it to the lead on lap 100 and this is where the race turned into mostly a Hunter-Reay/Castroneves affair. There were some other drivers in the mix. Carpenter didn't fall out of contention. Juan Pablo Montoya was hanging around. Marco Andretti led a good chunk of laps.
The first caution came out when Charlie Kimball spun in turn two and it created a frenetic ending. A few laps later, Scott Dixon spun in turn four and simultaneously Josef Newgarden was hit from behind when Martin Plowman lost focus for a second. The race restarted with 25 laps to go and the early front-runners Carpenter and Newgarden got together in turn one.
Hunter-Reay, Andretti and Castroneves traded the lead before the final caution for a Townsend Bell spin with nine laps to go.
The Bell incident brought out an unprecedented red flag to guarantee a finish. The race went green with seven laps to go and it became a one-on-one battle between Hunter-Reay and Castroneves for the victory. The pair of yellow machines weaved into each corner and slingshot one another at every chance. Hunter-Reay made a daring pass on the inside of Castroneves into turn three and for the final four laps the American successful defended the Brazilian.
At the line, Hunter-Reay won the Indianapolis 500 by 0.060 seconds over Castroneves.
Down the order, Andretti was third ahead of the Colombians Carlos Muñoz and Juan Pablo Montoya. Kurt Busch was the sixth place finish in his Indianapolis 500 debut, the top rookie but the rookie that drew more attention was Sage Karam, who went from 31st to the top ten and then had to go from outside the top twenty back to ninth. Jacques Villeneuve returned to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in 19 years and finished 14th.
How is it remembered: I think it is one of the greatest IndyCar races of all-time.
I went back-and-forth between this and the Fontana race above being the best of the decade. Both were 500-mile races with long green flag runs to start. What makes this one stand out is those 149 laps of green flag racing were dazzling. For a moment, it felt like we were going to have a caution-free Indianapolis 500.
It was kind of like watching nine minutes of continuous play in a hockey game. In that time there are going to be impressive saves, odd-man rushes and it is going to be end-to-end play.
There was not a dull moment over those 149 laps, 372.5 miles. When that first caution came out the entire field deserved a round of applause. You saw 33 drivers run flat out at speeds over 210 MPH and it took about two hours before anyone made a significant mistake. It was a remarkable display of racing and ability and all 33 drivers should be commended for what they did that day.
We were only 45 seconds away from this being the fastest Indianapolis 500. The late cautions slowed it up but it was a phenomenal affair and it ended with a tremendous finish.
The Hunter-Reay-Castroneves battle is up there with Wilbur Shaw vs. Ralph Hepburn, Jim Rathmann vs. Rodger Ward, A.J. Foyt vs. Eddie Sachs, Gordon Johncock vs. Rick Mears, Emerson Fittipaldi vs. Al Unser, Jr., Unser, Jr. vs. Scott Goodyear and Sam Hornish, Jr. vs. Marco Andretti.
It was two great drivers going at it and matching each other's move. Both drivers kept it clean. There was no chop blocking. Neither driver put the other in a dangerous situation.
It is the most complete race of the decade. It had everything you could ask for.
Coming up later this week, we will look at the best IndyCar drivers of the decade.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Monday, November 11, 2019
Musings From the Weekend: Reverse! Reverse!
The 12 drivers that will be fighting for NASCAR championships at Homestead have been determined. Team Penske might have had a disappointing day in Phoenix but it had a day to celebrate in Australia. Toyota is upset in China. There was a disqualification in China. Off the racetrack, McLaren's IndyCar program has a testing livery, Sébastien Bourdais can see through the aeroscreen with his glasses. Meyer Shank Racing will be full-time with Jack Harvey in IndyCar. Fernando Alonso might be getting back in bed with Andretti Autosport. Kyle Busch is going to run the 24 Hours of Daytona with Lexus' GT Daytona program. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
Reverse! Reverse!
While Formula One finally figured out the 2021 regulations, the current topic of disagreement is the proposed reverse grid qualifying races.
The proposal is instead of the three-round knockout qualifying, a race would be held on Saturday with the grid for that qualifying race set in reverse of the drivers' championship standings. The championship leader would start dead last with dead last starting on pole position. The race would be a shorter than the grand prix and the results at the end of the set distance would set the grid for the grand prix on Sunday.
It has not been met with open arms. Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton shot it down. Romain Grosjean called it an answer to a question no one was asking. Others see it as a quick fix to a bigger problem. While reverse grid races would create a scenario with top cars having to maneuver the cars at the back of the field and possibly force top cars to then start a race in the middle of the field, Carlos Sainz, Jr. noted what needs to be fixed is bringing the field closer together rather than setting up obstacles to make the field seem closer than it actually is.
The proponents to the idea say Formula One has to evolve. It has to do something new otherwise it will continue to lose fans. People need something new. They need something a little more unpredictable.
Both sides are right.
A Formula One weekend has been static for quite sometime, two practices on Friday, a practice and a qualifying session on Saturday and a race on Sunday. There is nothing wrong with keeping a consistent schedule. Everyone knows how a race weekend plays out. The one thing NASCAR fans bemoan is the inconsistency in weekend schedules. Some races have a practice and qualifying on Friday before two Saturday practices. Other weekends have two practice sessions on Friday and a qualifying on Saturday. That isn't even getting into when inspection takes place and when the grid is actually set.
Formula One should not throw the baby out with the bath water. However, what it does over those three days remains up in the air. A reverse grid qualifying race is a big change. Qualifying races are not what a grand prix has ever used but we are approaching 2020. Qualifying wasn't always three knockout rounds. Formula One made changes. It moved on from it being an all-skate session for a set time and from single-lap runs for each car. The knockout format is an extended session but it keeps it from being monotonous.
A qualifying race could be seen as the next evolution from knockout qualifying. There is still down time in knockout qualifying. There are still periods with cars in the garage waiting. There are sessions where in the final minutes of the round it is pretty much set because the teams cannot blow through tires and if a team is in the drop zone it will not make it out. A qualifying race would get rid of that.
Every car would have to go out and run a set number of laps. You would get all 20 cars on the track at the same time. No one would be in the garages waiting for clear track. It would be a race and the incentive is to finish first.
It is an intriguing idea but it is a minor fix to a bigger problem.
Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are going to find a way to the front. It is more just delaying the inevitable. We don't know how mixed up a grid would be but we saw Max Verstappen go off track in turn one at Mexico, cut a tire, pit, come out in 19th, 30 seconds behind the car in 18th and still end up finishing sixth.
In the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton started 21st and was up to fifth in eight laps.
It doesn't how far you set back one of those six cars. If there was a reverse grid race, depending on the length, those cars might make it into the top five. If they started in the top five then it they will likely be fighting for the before the end of lap three. It is no different then when World Superbike reversed the top nine finishers from race one for race two. It didn't take long for Jonathan Rea to get back to the top spot.
If the answer is to make sure the qualifying race is short enough to make sure the likes of Hamilton, Vettel and Verstappen cannot end up in the top five then Formula One is going to have a qualifying race that isn't worth the time.
Keep in mind that the current qualifying format takes an hour to complete. It is perfect for television. Session starts at 2:00 p.m. local time. Round one is over in 18 minutes, after a few minutes, round two starts and lasts for 15 minutes. Another break occurs and the 12-minute final round begins.
An hour is more than half of most grand prix. A qualifying race is not going to be half the grand prix length. It could be but that does not seem likely. Imagine a 22-lap race at Spa-Francorchamps the day before the 44-lap main event. Although, this year at Spa, Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas each ran 19 laps in qualifying. Vettel and Charles Leclerc each did 17 laps. Maybe the qualifying race doesn't have to fill the entire hour but fill 45 minutes and then 15 minutes could be split on either side for preview and review.
I am sure there are teams that would push back on it and would want to watch how many miles are run each race weekend.
Formula One does need to work to get the grid closer and qualifying races do not solve that problem but I do think Formula One should be open to trying it.
There is a problem in Formula One that new ideas are quickly shot down. The entire paddock can dismiss an idea without even trying it. I don't think that is a good thing and I think Formula One should try something new every now and then.
The proposal for 2020 was to use reverse grid qualifying races at France, Belgium and Russia. That has since been killed but it would have been a soft-launch. Knockout qualifying is not broken so instead of completely eliminating it to have a slow roll out of qualifying races and use the three rounds in 2020 as a test and future development was a smart idea. I wish the teams had embraced giving it a chance.
Maybe there could be a Formula One where knockout qualifying and reverse qualifying races co-exist. I know before I said the one strength to a Formula One weekend is you know the format while NASCAR's weekends can be hard to keep up with but maybe there could a handful of races that use reverse grid qualifying races while the rest use knockout qualifying. It is the best of both worlds. We keep what works but also have something new for a few races.
It could rotate. It could have been France, Belgium and Russia in 2020. In 2021, it could have been China, Spain, Hungary, Japan and Mexico. I think five races is a good total and with the schedule ballooning up to 22 races, doing something different for five races would actually be refreshing. I think an argument could be made with 22 races that six or seven races could use reverse grid qualifying races.
Reverse grid qualifying races do not fix the bigger issues in Formula One and even with the attempt to mix up the field it seems the top teams are going to end up at the front no matter what. There are many things Formula One has to do but I think the drivers and teams should be a little open and at least give something new a fair shake.
There is nothing wrong with trying something new and it could be slowly rolled out. With new regulations coming in 2021, the Formula One teams should be encourage to try reverse grid qualifying races in at least three races with maybe increasing it to four races for 2022 and five races in 2023. Before the 2024 season, Formula One and the teams can come to the table and discuss what should be done going forward.
I would rather see Formula One experiment, trying reverse grid qualifying races at 12 different circuits over a three-year period and then make a decision after the looking at the data than not trying anything at all.
Champion From the Weekend
Scott McLaughlin clinched his second consecutive Supercars championship with a ninth place finish in the Sandown 500 with Alexandre Prémat.
The #888 Tripe Eight Race Engineering Holden of Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes clinched the Supercars Enduro Cup with its victory in the Sandown 500.
Winners From The Weekend
You know about Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes but did you know...
Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup race from Phoenix, his sixth victory of 2019. Justin Allgaier won the Grand National Series race, his first victory of the season. Stewart Friesen won the Truck race, his second victory of the season.
The #1 Rebellion Racing Rebellion R13-Gibson of Gustavo Menezes, Bruno Senna and Norman Nato won the 4 Hours of Shanghai. The #38 Jota Sports Oreca-Gibson of Anthony Davidson, Roberto Gonzàlez and António Félix da Costa won in LMP2. The #92 Porsche of Michael Christensen and Kévin Estre won in GTE-Pro after the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Giudi was disqualified. The #90 TF Sport Aston Martin of Jonny Adam, Salih Yoluç and Charlie Eastwood won in GTE-Am.
Coming Up This Weekend
MotoGP ends its season in Valencia.
NASCAR ends its season in Homestead.
World Rally Championship ends its season in Australia.
Formula One has its penultimate round in São Paulo.
World Touring Car Cup has its penultimate round in Macau alongside the Macau Grand Prix.
Reverse! Reverse!
While Formula One finally figured out the 2021 regulations, the current topic of disagreement is the proposed reverse grid qualifying races.
The proposal is instead of the three-round knockout qualifying, a race would be held on Saturday with the grid for that qualifying race set in reverse of the drivers' championship standings. The championship leader would start dead last with dead last starting on pole position. The race would be a shorter than the grand prix and the results at the end of the set distance would set the grid for the grand prix on Sunday.
It has not been met with open arms. Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton shot it down. Romain Grosjean called it an answer to a question no one was asking. Others see it as a quick fix to a bigger problem. While reverse grid races would create a scenario with top cars having to maneuver the cars at the back of the field and possibly force top cars to then start a race in the middle of the field, Carlos Sainz, Jr. noted what needs to be fixed is bringing the field closer together rather than setting up obstacles to make the field seem closer than it actually is.
The proponents to the idea say Formula One has to evolve. It has to do something new otherwise it will continue to lose fans. People need something new. They need something a little more unpredictable.
Both sides are right.
A Formula One weekend has been static for quite sometime, two practices on Friday, a practice and a qualifying session on Saturday and a race on Sunday. There is nothing wrong with keeping a consistent schedule. Everyone knows how a race weekend plays out. The one thing NASCAR fans bemoan is the inconsistency in weekend schedules. Some races have a practice and qualifying on Friday before two Saturday practices. Other weekends have two practice sessions on Friday and a qualifying on Saturday. That isn't even getting into when inspection takes place and when the grid is actually set.
Formula One should not throw the baby out with the bath water. However, what it does over those three days remains up in the air. A reverse grid qualifying race is a big change. Qualifying races are not what a grand prix has ever used but we are approaching 2020. Qualifying wasn't always three knockout rounds. Formula One made changes. It moved on from it being an all-skate session for a set time and from single-lap runs for each car. The knockout format is an extended session but it keeps it from being monotonous.
A qualifying race could be seen as the next evolution from knockout qualifying. There is still down time in knockout qualifying. There are still periods with cars in the garage waiting. There are sessions where in the final minutes of the round it is pretty much set because the teams cannot blow through tires and if a team is in the drop zone it will not make it out. A qualifying race would get rid of that.
Every car would have to go out and run a set number of laps. You would get all 20 cars on the track at the same time. No one would be in the garages waiting for clear track. It would be a race and the incentive is to finish first.
It is an intriguing idea but it is a minor fix to a bigger problem.
Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are going to find a way to the front. It is more just delaying the inevitable. We don't know how mixed up a grid would be but we saw Max Verstappen go off track in turn one at Mexico, cut a tire, pit, come out in 19th, 30 seconds behind the car in 18th and still end up finishing sixth.
In the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton started 21st and was up to fifth in eight laps.
It doesn't how far you set back one of those six cars. If there was a reverse grid race, depending on the length, those cars might make it into the top five. If they started in the top five then it they will likely be fighting for the before the end of lap three. It is no different then when World Superbike reversed the top nine finishers from race one for race two. It didn't take long for Jonathan Rea to get back to the top spot.
If the answer is to make sure the qualifying race is short enough to make sure the likes of Hamilton, Vettel and Verstappen cannot end up in the top five then Formula One is going to have a qualifying race that isn't worth the time.
Keep in mind that the current qualifying format takes an hour to complete. It is perfect for television. Session starts at 2:00 p.m. local time. Round one is over in 18 minutes, after a few minutes, round two starts and lasts for 15 minutes. Another break occurs and the 12-minute final round begins.
An hour is more than half of most grand prix. A qualifying race is not going to be half the grand prix length. It could be but that does not seem likely. Imagine a 22-lap race at Spa-Francorchamps the day before the 44-lap main event. Although, this year at Spa, Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas each ran 19 laps in qualifying. Vettel and Charles Leclerc each did 17 laps. Maybe the qualifying race doesn't have to fill the entire hour but fill 45 minutes and then 15 minutes could be split on either side for preview and review.
I am sure there are teams that would push back on it and would want to watch how many miles are run each race weekend.
Formula One does need to work to get the grid closer and qualifying races do not solve that problem but I do think Formula One should be open to trying it.
There is a problem in Formula One that new ideas are quickly shot down. The entire paddock can dismiss an idea without even trying it. I don't think that is a good thing and I think Formula One should try something new every now and then.
The proposal for 2020 was to use reverse grid qualifying races at France, Belgium and Russia. That has since been killed but it would have been a soft-launch. Knockout qualifying is not broken so instead of completely eliminating it to have a slow roll out of qualifying races and use the three rounds in 2020 as a test and future development was a smart idea. I wish the teams had embraced giving it a chance.
Maybe there could be a Formula One where knockout qualifying and reverse qualifying races co-exist. I know before I said the one strength to a Formula One weekend is you know the format while NASCAR's weekends can be hard to keep up with but maybe there could a handful of races that use reverse grid qualifying races while the rest use knockout qualifying. It is the best of both worlds. We keep what works but also have something new for a few races.
It could rotate. It could have been France, Belgium and Russia in 2020. In 2021, it could have been China, Spain, Hungary, Japan and Mexico. I think five races is a good total and with the schedule ballooning up to 22 races, doing something different for five races would actually be refreshing. I think an argument could be made with 22 races that six or seven races could use reverse grid qualifying races.
Reverse grid qualifying races do not fix the bigger issues in Formula One and even with the attempt to mix up the field it seems the top teams are going to end up at the front no matter what. There are many things Formula One has to do but I think the drivers and teams should be a little open and at least give something new a fair shake.
There is nothing wrong with trying something new and it could be slowly rolled out. With new regulations coming in 2021, the Formula One teams should be encourage to try reverse grid qualifying races in at least three races with maybe increasing it to four races for 2022 and five races in 2023. Before the 2024 season, Formula One and the teams can come to the table and discuss what should be done going forward.
I would rather see Formula One experiment, trying reverse grid qualifying races at 12 different circuits over a three-year period and then make a decision after the looking at the data than not trying anything at all.
Champion From the Weekend
Scott McLaughlin clinched his second consecutive Supercars championship with a ninth place finish in the Sandown 500 with Alexandre Prémat.
The #888 Tripe Eight Race Engineering Holden of Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes clinched the Supercars Enduro Cup with its victory in the Sandown 500.
Winners From The Weekend
You know about Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes but did you know...
Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup race from Phoenix, his sixth victory of 2019. Justin Allgaier won the Grand National Series race, his first victory of the season. Stewart Friesen won the Truck race, his second victory of the season.
The #1 Rebellion Racing Rebellion R13-Gibson of Gustavo Menezes, Bruno Senna and Norman Nato won the 4 Hours of Shanghai. The #38 Jota Sports Oreca-Gibson of Anthony Davidson, Roberto Gonzàlez and António Félix da Costa won in LMP2. The #92 Porsche of Michael Christensen and Kévin Estre won in GTE-Pro after the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Giudi was disqualified. The #90 TF Sport Aston Martin of Jonny Adam, Salih Yoluç and Charlie Eastwood won in GTE-Am.
Coming Up This Weekend
MotoGP ends its season in Valencia.
NASCAR ends its season in Homestead.
World Rally Championship ends its season in Australia.
Formula One has its penultimate round in São Paulo.
World Touring Car Cup has its penultimate round in Macau alongside the Macau Grand Prix.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
IndyCar's Worst Races of the 2010s
Over the next few weeks we are going to look back at the decade of the 2010s and we will start with IndyCar.
The decade ended for IndyCar about six weeks ago and the decade ended in a place that was better than where it started for IndyCar but it was a long and bumpy road for the series.
This decade started fresh off of reunification but with the Dallara IR05/IR07 chassis and the normally aspirated V8 Honda engines being the only allowed combination on the grid. While the DW12 chassis was introduced and saw Honda and Chevrolet become a competitive battle for eight seasons there were plenty of headaches that occurred.
I think we got to go over some of the low points for IndyCar over the last ten years, not to be negative but as a reminder of how far IndyCar has come and to appreciate the good days. We need to put every race into perspective and looking back on some of the low points make the average days seemed not as bad.
We are going to look over the worst ten races of the 2010s. Worst is subjective but it will take account of what happened on the track, how it made IndyCar appear and the response it drew.
To address the 1,000-pound gorilla in the room, you are not going to see neither the 2011 Las Vegas race nor the 2015 Pocono race on this list. I think we can all agree the deaths of Dan Wheldon and Justin Wilson were the lowest points for IndyCar over the 2010s.
10. 2019 ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway
What happened: An accident on lap one took out five cars and saw the car of Felix Rosenqvist graze the catchfence in turn two causing a 45-minute delay one year after an accident in turn two on lap three took out five cars, saw Robert Wickens get into the catchfence and put him in a wheelchair and led to a two-hour delay.
Once the race got restarted it saw Scott Dixon, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power control the race. With the race reaching the halfway point the threat of rain appeared very likely and the race had this frantic feeling with dark clouds approaching from turn three.
Power jumped out to the lead and ran away from the rest of the field when lightning strikes in the area brought out the red flag. Within the hour the rains started and due to the proximity to sunset there would be no way for the track to be dried and all 500 miles be completed. Power was declared the winner after completed 128 of the scheduled 200 laps.
How is it remembered: Despite the early deduction in cars and only completing 320 of 500 miles, the 2019 Pocono race had 19.25% more passes than the 2018 race and passes for position more than double going from 53 in 2018 to 109 in 2019.
The 2019 Pocono race was not a dreadful race but why this takes the number ten spot is because of everything that led up to it and the inevitability that Pocono would not be returning during the red flag.
The crowd was good on both days despite rain on both days and there was some hope that Pocono would stay. The track seemed open to IndyCar returning for 2020 and beyond.
Then the accident happened and another delay and people got mad on social media and the race was rain-shortened and no one left the track feeling positive other than Will Power, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden because he increased his championship lead, as Alexander Rossi was in that lap one accident.
Pocono and IndyCar aren't splitting on bad terms. Both sides left the door open for a possible return but how things ended in 2019 left a mark.
9. 2011 Honda Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park
What happened: Will Power led 90 of 90 laps from pole position and won the race by 3.383 seconds over Scott Dixon. This race had six cautions for 20 of 90 laps. There were three cautions for incidents in turn six alone. There were two incidents that occur on the first lap after a restart and one that happened on the second lap after a restart.
How is it remembered: This wasn't a terrible race. This type of road course race happens every now and then. Tony Kanaan went from 24th to sixth. Simon Pagenaud, in relief for the injured Ana Beatriz, went from 23rd to eighth. Charlie Kimball got his first career top ten finish in tenth from 21st. This was James Hinchcliffe's debut and he got together with E.J. Viso. I remember Robin Miller preaching "hate is good" after Hinchcliffe's interview and he expressed his displeasure with Viso.
Why did this race make it? Not every beat down is going to be a great race and the start-stop nature of the race can dragged it out. It is the slowest race to take place at Barber Motorsports Park, slower than the two rain-affected races.
8. 2014 The Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston Race One at Reliant Park Street Course
What happened: A lot of rain at a shoddy street course in a parking lot.
The race started dry and Simon Pagenaud lost the lead early to Takuma Sato. An untimely caution for a Mike Conway accident shuffled James Hinchcliffe to the lead but the rain turn it into a timed-race.
Going off-strategy, the Dale Coyne Racing cars of Justin Wilson and Carlos Huertas moved up to the top two spots. Wilson had to make a pit stop after 73 laps and a caution would come out on lap 77 for Sebastián Saavedra having an accident.
Huertas was tight on fuel and time was running out. IndyCar planned for a restart with one lap to go but coming to the green flag, Graham Rahal got into the back of Tony Kanaan while both cars were in the top five. The restart was waved off, time ran out, Huertas took the checkered flag and led an all-Colombian podium ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and Carlos Muñoz and on a day Colombia won 2-0 over Uruguay in the round of 16 in the FIFA World Cup.
How is it remembered: The race that Carlos Huertas somehow won, albeit failing inspection for fuel cell capacity and rear wing ride height.
I don't want to knock IndyCar too much but in a race where fuel mileage determined the winner, how is the penalty for a car with an improper fuel cell capacity only a $10,000 fine? Maybe IndyCar should broach disqualifying winning race cars, something that many series have been doing for decades and NASCAR just invented for the start of the 2019 season.
I digress but this race felt incomplete. The race was shortened ten laps because of rain. Houston was not a great racetrack and this race was moved from a hot weekend in early October to a boiling weekend at the end of June. The track was motocross track rough. It was not ideal.
All three podium finishers started outside the top ten. Muñoz started 23rd. Most wet races are regarded as the best but this was a mess.
7. 2016 Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway
What happened: IndyCar returned to Phoenix for the first time in 11 years and produced a race with very little passing.
There were two lead changes, the first when Hélio Castroneves suffered a punctured right front tire on lap 40 and the second when Juan Pablo Montoya punctured a right front tire on lap 96. Scott Dixon took the lead from there and led the final 155 laps uncontested and the race ended under caution after Alexander Rossi brushed the barrier exiting turn four.
Though Rossi was able to continue and drive back to the pit lane and there was no apparent debris on the racetrack, a restart could not be organized in the final three laps.
How is it remembered: I am not putting it in here because the race ended under caution. Races end under caution. It happens. What sucks about this race is everyone knew this wasn't good enough and things had to change and IndyCar did nothing for 2017 and basically nothing for 2018 other than run the universal aero kit and hoped that would be enough.
Everyone had been begging for Phoenix for a decade and IndyCar returned, put on a processional race and then didn't do enough to make sure the same race didn't happen again. Phoenix is remembered as a miss for the series. The series never seemed to get it right.
6. 2010 Honda Indy Edmonton at Edmonton City Centre Airport
What happened: Will Power led from the start ahead of Hélio Castroneves. Power led 76 of the first 77 laps before Castroneves took the lead into turn one.
A caution with six laps to go gave Power a second chance to back around Castroneves. Power made his move to Castroneves on the outside of turn one but it was unsuccessful and it opened the door for Scott Dixon to get ahead of Power for second.
Castroneves maintain the lead and ran to the checkered flag only to be penalized, docked back to the last car on the lead lap and giving the victory to Scott Dixon. The penalty was originally stated as blocking but later explained as Castroneves breaking the rule that prohibits a driver from defending the inside line of the corner, which he did on Power's attempted pass for the lead that allowed Dixon to move up to second.
Dixon took the victory with Power finishing second ahead of Dario Franchitti, Ryan Briscoe and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
How is it remembered: Castroneves' meltdown that led him to shout at the flag stand and then grabbing then-IndyCar security director Charles Burns by the shirt.
Not only would we have Castroneves' meltdown but also we would have to live with IndyCar's defending rule for the next season and a half. For every road and street course through the end of the 2011 season we watched the road and street course races intently to see if anyone would defend and then nitpick what was defending, what was blocking, what was legal and so on. Keep in mind the 2010-11 regulations did not allow for the best racing on road and street courses so every potential move had heightened importance.
The rule made IndyCar feel a little amateur in regulating where a car could race on the racetrack.
5. 2011 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway
What happened: Will Power led 71 of 75 laps from pole position with the four laps he did not lead being during pit cycle and all four of those laps were led by Ryan Briscoe.
Hélio Castroneves was runner-up from second on the grid and Ryan Briscoe made it an all-Penske podium finish from third on the grid. Dario Franchitti was fourth after starting fourth and Scott Dixon was fifth after starting fifth. Sébastien Bourdais rounded out the top six after starting eighth. James Hinchcliffe was seventh, one spot worse than his starting position of sixth. Graham Rahal went from 13th to eighth. E.J. Viso started ninth and finished ninth. Ryan Hunter-Reay made a great improvement from 19th to tenth.
The only caution was for Ho-Pin Tung after he went off in turn nine. The margin of victory was 3.242 seconds.
How is it remembered: It was a typical Sonoma race. There was little to no passing, at least not at the front of the grid. When the top five starters finish exactly where they started it is going to be very hard to argue this was a good race. Hunter-Reay made up some ground but there was not much moving anywhere.
Charlie Kimball started and finished in 26th. Ed Carpenter started 27th and finished 25th after two cars retired, Tung and Tony Kanaan. Danica Patrick went from 25th to 21st. Simon Pagenaud, in relief for Simona de Silvestro who was not in the country due to visa issues, went from 22nd to 15th.
It was a rough race and one that again pointed that something had to be done at Sonoma. Nothing really came of it.
4. 2010 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway
What happened: Will Power led 73 of 75 laps from pole position with Scott Dixon leading the other two laps and finishing second from sixth on the grid.
Dario Franchitti started and finished third. Ryan Briscoe started fifth and finished fourth. Hélio Castroneves dropped from second on the grid to fifth. Justin Wilson moved up from seventh to sixth, Tony Kanaan moved up two spots from ninth to seventh and Ryan Hunter-Reay started and finished eighth. Graham Rahal went from 16th to ninth and Alex Lloyd went from 22nd to tenth.
Dan Wheldon flipped before even reaching the green flag and that was the first of four cautions. Milka Duno had an accident. J.R. Hildebrand and Marco Andretti got together. Raphael Matos, E.J. Viso and Bertrand Baguette had accident.
How is it remembered: Wheldon's flip because who saw that coming? Outside of that it was another dull Sonoma affair.
It should also be known that, in 2009, Dario Franchitti led all 75 laps from pole position while Ryan Briscoe started and finished second and Mike Conway shuffled up to third from ninth. Mario Moraes did something similar from 14th to fourth and Hideki Mutoh started and finished fifth.
In a three-year period, the pole-sitter led 219 of 225 laps. In all three races the pole-sitter won and of the 15 top five starters, 12 finished in the top five.
Sonoma wasn't much better with the DW12 chassis. There were definitely better races but far from enough to change the attitude toward the racetrack. This three-year period, the end of the IR05/IR07-era in IndyCar, combined with Sonoma showed how incompatible that car was with road courses and how unfavorable the Sonoma layout was to good racing.
3. 2012 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix at The Raceway on Belle Isle Park
What happened: The track came apart!
James Hinchcliffe's race ended after track came apart underneath his wheels and put him into the turn seven tires. This led to a two-hour red flag after 39 laps.
The race would be shortened to 60 laps because of the delay and only seven of the final 21 laps were run under green flag conditions after two more accidents would occur in the final part of the race.
Meanwhile, Scott Dixon won unchallenged from pole position, having led all 60 laps. Dario Franchitti went from 14th to second, giving Chip Ganassi Racing its second consecutive 1-2 finish, one week after Franchitti took his third Indianapolis 500 victory ahead of Dixon. Simon Pagenaud rounded out the podium.
How is it remembered: The track came apart!
This was Belle Isle's first race since 2008. It was not a race people were dying to have back on the schedule and it could not get through 40 of 90 laps without the track ripping up. Hinchcliffe's race was over. There was no way to right this wrong. The track had to be torn up, concrete had to be poured into some of the potholes and we had to wait two hours for the conclusion.
Need I remind everyone this race went from ABC to the finish being shown on ESPNNEWS!
However, and I think if you have any fears over what Roger Penske's leadership of IndyCar will look like, everything improved at Belle Isle since this race.
Belle Isle was resurfaced but not only resurfaced, IndyCar returned to the larger Belle Isle layout. The 2012 layout was 2.07-mile. It did not feature the long straightaway from turn two to turn three that we all know and love today. Turn three was much closer turn two. Instead of being a series of straightaways connected by 90-degree corners, the 2012 layout saw turns three, four, five and six being much more flowing corners.
Belle Isle returned to the larger layout and the races have been greater than any preceding Belle Isle races. Belle Isle is a doubleheader weekend and it is the one major curveball on the schedule.
Roger Penske had a bad event and not only fixed it but made it better. Penske took this low point for IndyCar and turned it into something greater than anyone could have first imagined.
2. 2011 MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 at New Hampshire International Speedway
What happened: In IndyCar's first trip to Loudon since 1998, Dario Franchitti led from pole position and had a comfortable lead while Tomas Scheckter went from 18th to third in the first 15 laps, albeit it ten of those laps were under caution. Oriol Servià, James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay were having a good battle in the top five.
Rain showers hampered this race and at lap 75 a drizzle forced a yellow flag that lasted 32 laps. Once the conditions cleared and the track was deemed good enough to race, the race restarted. Not long after that period Scheckter, Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti got together with Scheckter and Kanaan both retiring from the race.
Franchitti had led 115 of the first 117 before he and Takuma Sato came together on the lap 118 restart. Franchise's race was done and it opened the door for anyone to take this race.
Hunter-Reay inherited the lead but different strategies made the race outcome uncertain. Will Power and Takuma Sato cycled to the lead before Hunter-Reay retook the point ahead of Servià. Rains forced another yellow flag on lap 206 of 225.
The race appeared destined to end early but cars lined up with a restart despite raindrops continuing to fall. Some cars struggled to line up and it led to one restart being waved off. While drivers complained the rain was getting worse, a second restart was attempted and Danica Patrick spun and collected Power, Sato, Sarah Fisher and Ana Beatriz. The red flag was immediately displayed.
This led to confusion and disgruntled drivers and team owners. IndyCar official reverted back to the running order at the end of lap 215 as the final result giving Ryan Hunter-Reay the victory over Oriol Servià, Scott Dixon, James Hinchcliffe, Power, Patrick and Sato.
How is it remembered: Will Power flipping off Brian Barnhart with both middle fingers. IndyCar restarting an oval race in the rain when every driver was adamant it should not be restarted. This led to the end of the Barnhart-era in race control.
This was actually a pretty good race and I think IndyCar would put on a good race at Loudon if the series was to ever return but the missteps over the final restart have forever shaded this race as nothing but a blunder.
It was one of IndyCar's most inept moments. Any Barnhart defender could not justify this decision. It appeared clear the paddock had lost faith in race control.
On top of all that, Servià felt robbed because a restart had happened and he took the lead from Hunter-Reay. With IndyCar reverting the results prior to the failed restart, Servià was demoted to second and Hunter-Reay got the victory. This led to more Zapruder-esque film breakdowns that IndyCar was hoping to escape after the 2002 Indianapolis 500.
It was a brutal display for IndyCar and it all occurred on ABC.
Also, what the hell was MoveThatBlock.com? It was a mismanaged race with a shady title sponsor. What a great day for IndyCar.
1. 2015 Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park
What happened: The inaugural trip to NOLA Motorsports Park had rain pretty much wash out all of Saturday's action and delay Sunday's proceedings.
Qualifying was rained out and the race was delayed to allow drivers some track time with a warm-up session.
The first 15 laps went well and the track started to dry. However, it fell to pieces after that.
Drivers switched to slicks and it did not work out. The dry line was not wide enough and the length of the following green flag runs were one lap, one lap, one lap, two laps and one lap.
Twenty-six of 47 laps were under caution.
The fractured nature of the race led drivers to roll the dice on strategy as the race was going to end early because of the time limit. James Hinchcliffe inherited the lead on lap 33 when Juan Pablo Montoya made his second pit stop under caution. Hinchcliffe would lead the final 15 laps, of which only three were under green flag conditions. James Jakes made it a Schmidt Peterson Motorsports 1-2 finish with Hélio Castroneves in third.
How is it remembered: This is prime contender for worst race in IndyCar history, let alone the decade.
I do wonder if cars had stayed on the wet weather tires for another five to ten laps how the race would have played out. It could not have been worse than what we actually saw.
It also didn't help that NOLA Motorsports Park was perceived as a diamond in the rough. IndyCar was racing just outside of New Orleans, a place where there was no other major motorsports events for miles. There was a lot of hope this could become an IndyCar market.
This wet weekend exposed NOLA Motorsports Park as being underprepared for such an event. It was not a big venue, only about 8,000 spectators could be handled. The racetrack did not have the proper draining. It was a mess. It led to a lawsuit between Michael Andretti and Andretti Sports Marketing partners John Lopes and A. Starke Taylor.
It was IndyCar's only trip to the Bayou. Looking back at it in hindsight, you have the one doomed NOLA round and starting in 2016 you had Road America return, in 2017 you had Gateway return and in 2018 you had Portland return. We saw IndyCar try to go to unexplored territory and spread the word of IndyCar and what we have seen in seasons since is what has raised IndyCar's profile is going back to places where it has roots. Maybe under different circumstances NOLA Motorsports Park could still work for IndyCar but looking at the schedule now IndyCar has learned from previous mistakes and has found its identity.
We have gone over IndyCar's lowest moments but we will soon be looking at some of IndyCar's brightest spots from this decade.
The decade ended for IndyCar about six weeks ago and the decade ended in a place that was better than where it started for IndyCar but it was a long and bumpy road for the series.
This decade started fresh off of reunification but with the Dallara IR05/IR07 chassis and the normally aspirated V8 Honda engines being the only allowed combination on the grid. While the DW12 chassis was introduced and saw Honda and Chevrolet become a competitive battle for eight seasons there were plenty of headaches that occurred.
I think we got to go over some of the low points for IndyCar over the last ten years, not to be negative but as a reminder of how far IndyCar has come and to appreciate the good days. We need to put every race into perspective and looking back on some of the low points make the average days seemed not as bad.
We are going to look over the worst ten races of the 2010s. Worst is subjective but it will take account of what happened on the track, how it made IndyCar appear and the response it drew.
To address the 1,000-pound gorilla in the room, you are not going to see neither the 2011 Las Vegas race nor the 2015 Pocono race on this list. I think we can all agree the deaths of Dan Wheldon and Justin Wilson were the lowest points for IndyCar over the 2010s.
10. 2019 ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway
What happened: An accident on lap one took out five cars and saw the car of Felix Rosenqvist graze the catchfence in turn two causing a 45-minute delay one year after an accident in turn two on lap three took out five cars, saw Robert Wickens get into the catchfence and put him in a wheelchair and led to a two-hour delay.
Once the race got restarted it saw Scott Dixon, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power control the race. With the race reaching the halfway point the threat of rain appeared very likely and the race had this frantic feeling with dark clouds approaching from turn three.
Power jumped out to the lead and ran away from the rest of the field when lightning strikes in the area brought out the red flag. Within the hour the rains started and due to the proximity to sunset there would be no way for the track to be dried and all 500 miles be completed. Power was declared the winner after completed 128 of the scheduled 200 laps.
How is it remembered: Despite the early deduction in cars and only completing 320 of 500 miles, the 2019 Pocono race had 19.25% more passes than the 2018 race and passes for position more than double going from 53 in 2018 to 109 in 2019.
The 2019 Pocono race was not a dreadful race but why this takes the number ten spot is because of everything that led up to it and the inevitability that Pocono would not be returning during the red flag.
The crowd was good on both days despite rain on both days and there was some hope that Pocono would stay. The track seemed open to IndyCar returning for 2020 and beyond.
Then the accident happened and another delay and people got mad on social media and the race was rain-shortened and no one left the track feeling positive other than Will Power, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden because he increased his championship lead, as Alexander Rossi was in that lap one accident.
Pocono and IndyCar aren't splitting on bad terms. Both sides left the door open for a possible return but how things ended in 2019 left a mark.
9. 2011 Honda Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park
What happened: Will Power led 90 of 90 laps from pole position and won the race by 3.383 seconds over Scott Dixon. This race had six cautions for 20 of 90 laps. There were three cautions for incidents in turn six alone. There were two incidents that occur on the first lap after a restart and one that happened on the second lap after a restart.
How is it remembered: This wasn't a terrible race. This type of road course race happens every now and then. Tony Kanaan went from 24th to sixth. Simon Pagenaud, in relief for the injured Ana Beatriz, went from 23rd to eighth. Charlie Kimball got his first career top ten finish in tenth from 21st. This was James Hinchcliffe's debut and he got together with E.J. Viso. I remember Robin Miller preaching "hate is good" after Hinchcliffe's interview and he expressed his displeasure with Viso.
Why did this race make it? Not every beat down is going to be a great race and the start-stop nature of the race can dragged it out. It is the slowest race to take place at Barber Motorsports Park, slower than the two rain-affected races.
8. 2014 The Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston Race One at Reliant Park Street Course
What happened: A lot of rain at a shoddy street course in a parking lot.
The race started dry and Simon Pagenaud lost the lead early to Takuma Sato. An untimely caution for a Mike Conway accident shuffled James Hinchcliffe to the lead but the rain turn it into a timed-race.
Going off-strategy, the Dale Coyne Racing cars of Justin Wilson and Carlos Huertas moved up to the top two spots. Wilson had to make a pit stop after 73 laps and a caution would come out on lap 77 for Sebastián Saavedra having an accident.
Huertas was tight on fuel and time was running out. IndyCar planned for a restart with one lap to go but coming to the green flag, Graham Rahal got into the back of Tony Kanaan while both cars were in the top five. The restart was waved off, time ran out, Huertas took the checkered flag and led an all-Colombian podium ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and Carlos Muñoz and on a day Colombia won 2-0 over Uruguay in the round of 16 in the FIFA World Cup.
How is it remembered: The race that Carlos Huertas somehow won, albeit failing inspection for fuel cell capacity and rear wing ride height.
I don't want to knock IndyCar too much but in a race where fuel mileage determined the winner, how is the penalty for a car with an improper fuel cell capacity only a $10,000 fine? Maybe IndyCar should broach disqualifying winning race cars, something that many series have been doing for decades and NASCAR just invented for the start of the 2019 season.
I digress but this race felt incomplete. The race was shortened ten laps because of rain. Houston was not a great racetrack and this race was moved from a hot weekend in early October to a boiling weekend at the end of June. The track was motocross track rough. It was not ideal.
All three podium finishers started outside the top ten. Muñoz started 23rd. Most wet races are regarded as the best but this was a mess.
7. 2016 Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway
What happened: IndyCar returned to Phoenix for the first time in 11 years and produced a race with very little passing.
There were two lead changes, the first when Hélio Castroneves suffered a punctured right front tire on lap 40 and the second when Juan Pablo Montoya punctured a right front tire on lap 96. Scott Dixon took the lead from there and led the final 155 laps uncontested and the race ended under caution after Alexander Rossi brushed the barrier exiting turn four.
Though Rossi was able to continue and drive back to the pit lane and there was no apparent debris on the racetrack, a restart could not be organized in the final three laps.
How is it remembered: I am not putting it in here because the race ended under caution. Races end under caution. It happens. What sucks about this race is everyone knew this wasn't good enough and things had to change and IndyCar did nothing for 2017 and basically nothing for 2018 other than run the universal aero kit and hoped that would be enough.
Everyone had been begging for Phoenix for a decade and IndyCar returned, put on a processional race and then didn't do enough to make sure the same race didn't happen again. Phoenix is remembered as a miss for the series. The series never seemed to get it right.
6. 2010 Honda Indy Edmonton at Edmonton City Centre Airport
What happened: Will Power led from the start ahead of Hélio Castroneves. Power led 76 of the first 77 laps before Castroneves took the lead into turn one.
A caution with six laps to go gave Power a second chance to back around Castroneves. Power made his move to Castroneves on the outside of turn one but it was unsuccessful and it opened the door for Scott Dixon to get ahead of Power for second.
Castroneves maintain the lead and ran to the checkered flag only to be penalized, docked back to the last car on the lead lap and giving the victory to Scott Dixon. The penalty was originally stated as blocking but later explained as Castroneves breaking the rule that prohibits a driver from defending the inside line of the corner, which he did on Power's attempted pass for the lead that allowed Dixon to move up to second.
Dixon took the victory with Power finishing second ahead of Dario Franchitti, Ryan Briscoe and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
How is it remembered: Castroneves' meltdown that led him to shout at the flag stand and then grabbing then-IndyCar security director Charles Burns by the shirt.
Not only would we have Castroneves' meltdown but also we would have to live with IndyCar's defending rule for the next season and a half. For every road and street course through the end of the 2011 season we watched the road and street course races intently to see if anyone would defend and then nitpick what was defending, what was blocking, what was legal and so on. Keep in mind the 2010-11 regulations did not allow for the best racing on road and street courses so every potential move had heightened importance.
The rule made IndyCar feel a little amateur in regulating where a car could race on the racetrack.
5. 2011 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway
What happened: Will Power led 71 of 75 laps from pole position with the four laps he did not lead being during pit cycle and all four of those laps were led by Ryan Briscoe.
Hélio Castroneves was runner-up from second on the grid and Ryan Briscoe made it an all-Penske podium finish from third on the grid. Dario Franchitti was fourth after starting fourth and Scott Dixon was fifth after starting fifth. Sébastien Bourdais rounded out the top six after starting eighth. James Hinchcliffe was seventh, one spot worse than his starting position of sixth. Graham Rahal went from 13th to eighth. E.J. Viso started ninth and finished ninth. Ryan Hunter-Reay made a great improvement from 19th to tenth.
The only caution was for Ho-Pin Tung after he went off in turn nine. The margin of victory was 3.242 seconds.
How is it remembered: It was a typical Sonoma race. There was little to no passing, at least not at the front of the grid. When the top five starters finish exactly where they started it is going to be very hard to argue this was a good race. Hunter-Reay made up some ground but there was not much moving anywhere.
Charlie Kimball started and finished in 26th. Ed Carpenter started 27th and finished 25th after two cars retired, Tung and Tony Kanaan. Danica Patrick went from 25th to 21st. Simon Pagenaud, in relief for Simona de Silvestro who was not in the country due to visa issues, went from 22nd to 15th.
It was a rough race and one that again pointed that something had to be done at Sonoma. Nothing really came of it.
4. 2010 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway
What happened: Will Power led 73 of 75 laps from pole position with Scott Dixon leading the other two laps and finishing second from sixth on the grid.
Dario Franchitti started and finished third. Ryan Briscoe started fifth and finished fourth. Hélio Castroneves dropped from second on the grid to fifth. Justin Wilson moved up from seventh to sixth, Tony Kanaan moved up two spots from ninth to seventh and Ryan Hunter-Reay started and finished eighth. Graham Rahal went from 16th to ninth and Alex Lloyd went from 22nd to tenth.
Dan Wheldon flipped before even reaching the green flag and that was the first of four cautions. Milka Duno had an accident. J.R. Hildebrand and Marco Andretti got together. Raphael Matos, E.J. Viso and Bertrand Baguette had accident.
How is it remembered: Wheldon's flip because who saw that coming? Outside of that it was another dull Sonoma affair.
It should also be known that, in 2009, Dario Franchitti led all 75 laps from pole position while Ryan Briscoe started and finished second and Mike Conway shuffled up to third from ninth. Mario Moraes did something similar from 14th to fourth and Hideki Mutoh started and finished fifth.
In a three-year period, the pole-sitter led 219 of 225 laps. In all three races the pole-sitter won and of the 15 top five starters, 12 finished in the top five.
Sonoma wasn't much better with the DW12 chassis. There were definitely better races but far from enough to change the attitude toward the racetrack. This three-year period, the end of the IR05/IR07-era in IndyCar, combined with Sonoma showed how incompatible that car was with road courses and how unfavorable the Sonoma layout was to good racing.
3. 2012 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix at The Raceway on Belle Isle Park
What happened: The track came apart!
James Hinchcliffe's race ended after track came apart underneath his wheels and put him into the turn seven tires. This led to a two-hour red flag after 39 laps.
The race would be shortened to 60 laps because of the delay and only seven of the final 21 laps were run under green flag conditions after two more accidents would occur in the final part of the race.
Meanwhile, Scott Dixon won unchallenged from pole position, having led all 60 laps. Dario Franchitti went from 14th to second, giving Chip Ganassi Racing its second consecutive 1-2 finish, one week after Franchitti took his third Indianapolis 500 victory ahead of Dixon. Simon Pagenaud rounded out the podium.
How is it remembered: The track came apart!
This was Belle Isle's first race since 2008. It was not a race people were dying to have back on the schedule and it could not get through 40 of 90 laps without the track ripping up. Hinchcliffe's race was over. There was no way to right this wrong. The track had to be torn up, concrete had to be poured into some of the potholes and we had to wait two hours for the conclusion.
Need I remind everyone this race went from ABC to the finish being shown on ESPNNEWS!
However, and I think if you have any fears over what Roger Penske's leadership of IndyCar will look like, everything improved at Belle Isle since this race.
Belle Isle was resurfaced but not only resurfaced, IndyCar returned to the larger Belle Isle layout. The 2012 layout was 2.07-mile. It did not feature the long straightaway from turn two to turn three that we all know and love today. Turn three was much closer turn two. Instead of being a series of straightaways connected by 90-degree corners, the 2012 layout saw turns three, four, five and six being much more flowing corners.
Belle Isle returned to the larger layout and the races have been greater than any preceding Belle Isle races. Belle Isle is a doubleheader weekend and it is the one major curveball on the schedule.
Roger Penske had a bad event and not only fixed it but made it better. Penske took this low point for IndyCar and turned it into something greater than anyone could have first imagined.
2. 2011 MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 at New Hampshire International Speedway
What happened: In IndyCar's first trip to Loudon since 1998, Dario Franchitti led from pole position and had a comfortable lead while Tomas Scheckter went from 18th to third in the first 15 laps, albeit it ten of those laps were under caution. Oriol Servià, James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay were having a good battle in the top five.
Rain showers hampered this race and at lap 75 a drizzle forced a yellow flag that lasted 32 laps. Once the conditions cleared and the track was deemed good enough to race, the race restarted. Not long after that period Scheckter, Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti got together with Scheckter and Kanaan both retiring from the race.
Franchitti had led 115 of the first 117 before he and Takuma Sato came together on the lap 118 restart. Franchise's race was done and it opened the door for anyone to take this race.
Hunter-Reay inherited the lead but different strategies made the race outcome uncertain. Will Power and Takuma Sato cycled to the lead before Hunter-Reay retook the point ahead of Servià. Rains forced another yellow flag on lap 206 of 225.
The race appeared destined to end early but cars lined up with a restart despite raindrops continuing to fall. Some cars struggled to line up and it led to one restart being waved off. While drivers complained the rain was getting worse, a second restart was attempted and Danica Patrick spun and collected Power, Sato, Sarah Fisher and Ana Beatriz. The red flag was immediately displayed.
This led to confusion and disgruntled drivers and team owners. IndyCar official reverted back to the running order at the end of lap 215 as the final result giving Ryan Hunter-Reay the victory over Oriol Servià, Scott Dixon, James Hinchcliffe, Power, Patrick and Sato.
How is it remembered: Will Power flipping off Brian Barnhart with both middle fingers. IndyCar restarting an oval race in the rain when every driver was adamant it should not be restarted. This led to the end of the Barnhart-era in race control.
This was actually a pretty good race and I think IndyCar would put on a good race at Loudon if the series was to ever return but the missteps over the final restart have forever shaded this race as nothing but a blunder.
It was one of IndyCar's most inept moments. Any Barnhart defender could not justify this decision. It appeared clear the paddock had lost faith in race control.
On top of all that, Servià felt robbed because a restart had happened and he took the lead from Hunter-Reay. With IndyCar reverting the results prior to the failed restart, Servià was demoted to second and Hunter-Reay got the victory. This led to more Zapruder-esque film breakdowns that IndyCar was hoping to escape after the 2002 Indianapolis 500.
It was a brutal display for IndyCar and it all occurred on ABC.
Also, what the hell was MoveThatBlock.com? It was a mismanaged race with a shady title sponsor. What a great day for IndyCar.
1. 2015 Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park
What happened: The inaugural trip to NOLA Motorsports Park had rain pretty much wash out all of Saturday's action and delay Sunday's proceedings.
Qualifying was rained out and the race was delayed to allow drivers some track time with a warm-up session.
The first 15 laps went well and the track started to dry. However, it fell to pieces after that.
Drivers switched to slicks and it did not work out. The dry line was not wide enough and the length of the following green flag runs were one lap, one lap, one lap, two laps and one lap.
Twenty-six of 47 laps were under caution.
The fractured nature of the race led drivers to roll the dice on strategy as the race was going to end early because of the time limit. James Hinchcliffe inherited the lead on lap 33 when Juan Pablo Montoya made his second pit stop under caution. Hinchcliffe would lead the final 15 laps, of which only three were under green flag conditions. James Jakes made it a Schmidt Peterson Motorsports 1-2 finish with Hélio Castroneves in third.
How is it remembered: This is prime contender for worst race in IndyCar history, let alone the decade.
I do wonder if cars had stayed on the wet weather tires for another five to ten laps how the race would have played out. It could not have been worse than what we actually saw.
It also didn't help that NOLA Motorsports Park was perceived as a diamond in the rough. IndyCar was racing just outside of New Orleans, a place where there was no other major motorsports events for miles. There was a lot of hope this could become an IndyCar market.
This wet weekend exposed NOLA Motorsports Park as being underprepared for such an event. It was not a big venue, only about 8,000 spectators could be handled. The racetrack did not have the proper draining. It was a mess. It led to a lawsuit between Michael Andretti and Andretti Sports Marketing partners John Lopes and A. Starke Taylor.
It was IndyCar's only trip to the Bayou. Looking back at it in hindsight, you have the one doomed NOLA round and starting in 2016 you had Road America return, in 2017 you had Gateway return and in 2018 you had Portland return. We saw IndyCar try to go to unexplored territory and spread the word of IndyCar and what we have seen in seasons since is what has raised IndyCar's profile is going back to places where it has roots. Maybe under different circumstances NOLA Motorsports Park could still work for IndyCar but looking at the schedule now IndyCar has learned from previous mistakes and has found its identity.
We have gone over IndyCar's lowest moments but we will soon be looking at some of IndyCar's brightest spots from this decade.
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Pros and Cons: Roger Penske Purchasing Hulman & Co.
November 4, 2019 will be remembered as the day the motorsports story of the 21st century broke.
Nobody saw the announcement that Roger Penske's Penske Corporation would purchase Hulman & Co., most notably its assets the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NTT IndyCar Series, coming.
Nobody.
For decades we have heard the rumors about potential buyers for Indianapolis Motor Speedway but those became like Olympic Games, popping up every two or four years but the masses would quickly move on. We had heard it all before and in the 74th-year of Hulman George family ownership it seemed the Speedway and IndyCar would remain in the family forever.
Mari Hulman George passed away on November 3, 2018 but Tony George, who created the Indy Racing League and turning American open-wheel racing upside down in the final days of the 20th century, was ready to ascend to the throne just shy of his 60th birthday.
The Speedway was ready to start its next chapter but no one saw the plot twist that occurred in the first paragraph.
The third generation of Hulman George family rule has abdicated and handed the palace over to the leading subject; the man that exhibited the greatest level of honor and integrity in the kingdom, Roger Penske.
The sale did not come after months of speculation. There were not constant rumors about a potential owner and denials of these changes. There was not the breaking news report from Robin Miller saying it was all but done with confirmation later in the week.
The Hulman George family did it on its terms and in complete secrecy. It didn't tease an announcement for a few days and slowly lead people to realize what was happening. It broke the news when the deal was done and when few were ready for it, 8:00 a.m. on a Monday morning. It was the first order of business for the week.
It is the storybook transfer of power. The house remains in the family if you will but it is a change. For nearly three-quarters of a century the same family ran Indianapolis Motor Speedway and dictated the direction of IndyCar. We were familiar with the decisions and how things would play out. We knew what lengths the Hulman George family would go. There were few surprises then came the day few any saw coming.
Many do not know how to feel about the news. It is familiar but uncomfortable. It isn't a stranger that is taking over but, for a fan base that survived two decades of turmoil because of The Split, the most seismic changes are met with uncertainty.
That is fine and in times of uncertainty it is best to go over the pros and the cons to figure out whether you should relax or if your trepidation is rightly placed.
We are going to look at 14 items, seven pros and seven cons, into Roger Penske taking over Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NTT IndyCar Series.
Pro: There is No Better Fit to Purchase Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Roger Penske is IndyCar.
No one has carried the water as far for as long as Roger Penske. The man entered in 1969. He has won 18 of 51 Indianapolis 500 runs since then. His team has won 16 championships. It has over 200 IndyCar victories.
The man was a leader of CART, bought a few speedways, built another and promoted many IndyCar races. He made famous moves such as bringing Mercedes-Benz back in 1994 and Chevrolet back in 2012.
As a man who has grown a global business empire and has expanded to many different racing series his first choice was always IndyCar, taking the role of strategist for one of his cars. If he missed an IndyCar race that one of his car was participating in it was for a damn good reason.
If there was anyone set up to take over Indianapolis Motor Speedway from the Hulman George family it is Roger Penske.
This day was bound to come. Nothing lasts forever. However, I think we all worried what would be next. The best buyer might not have been someone with this much love and interest as Penske. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a business venture after all, a place where a wealthy man would look to get richer. It would be another chance to diversify an account. There were going to be many possible suitors, some of which had no previous experience with motorsports.
In the 21st century, a time of increasing globalization, there was a chance the Indianapolis Motor Speedway could have been purchased by a wealthy sheik or Chinese billionaire. It could have been a massive shock to the series. It could have been an infusion of cash the series has never seen but it could have been a clash between the new owners and the fan base.
In the soccer world, for every Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain that were taken over by oil money from the Middle East, there is a Portsmouth and Cardiff City, clubs that saw rich men take over, soured the fan base and, in the case of Portsmouth, ran it into the ground.
IndyCar could have gotten a complete unknown and been stuck with it for an unknown length of time.
Con: Roger Penske is 82 Years Old
Mari Hulman George died one year and two days ago at 83 years old.
Roger Penske is not going to be around to run the Speedway and IndyCar for the next 74 years.
You have to be a little concerned that in five years we could be facing another circumstance of unknown direction for the Speedway and the series. Penske Corporation is not the Hulman George family. When Penske passes it is not necessarily going to Jay Penske, owner of Dragon Racing that competes in Formula E and once competed in IndyCar. Jay Penske has his own interests.
There are plenty of people in Penske Corporation that are motorsports savvy but do they want to run Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar? Do they only want one or the other? Do they see both as deadweight and want to offload it quickly?
All that seems crazy to say but the regime that follows Roger Penske might have a different valuation of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar. Do we really want to be going through a period of turmoil in 2025 or 2030 as Penske Corporation looks for a buyer?
Tony George turns 60 years old on December 30. I think most of us would have been happy with Tony George running the Speedway and Hulman & Co. for the next 15-20 years. We would have known what we are dealing with. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the Hulman George family business. George was not going anywhere nor would other business interest distract him. The Speedway was the baby.
After George, there were his three sisters and another generation of Hulman George family members, one of which is former NASCAR Grand National Series driver Kyle Krisiloff, grandson to Mari Hulman George.
We knew the line of succession in the Hulman George family. A lot of people think Tim Cindric is next in line to run the Penske organization but are we really sure of that?
Pro: Roger Penske Can Take the Speedway to a Higher Level
For the longest time we have wondered if Indianapolis Motor Speedway was getting the most out of the facility, the series and the Indianapolis 500. Roger Penske takes everything to a higher level.
Penske has all the connections. He is plugged in all over the world, from the boardrooms in New York, London and Sydney. He is in the know with a countless number of billionaires. If the series is ever in need of a sponsor or a partner Penske is going to get a deal done.
When Gainbridge was announced as the presenting sponsor for the Indianapolis 500 I wondered if Indianapolis Motor Speedway was shooting too low. The Indianapolis 500 did not have a presenting sponsor until the 100th edition and the two it has had are PennGrade Motor Oil and Gainbridge, two Indiana-based companies.
Working with two Indiana-based companies is on brand for the Hulman George family but was PennGrade and Gainbridge really the best the family could have done for the Indianapolis 500?
It is the Indianapolis 500! A couple million people watch on television and even more people listen on the radio alone in the United States. It has a fair share of international viewers. There has to be a recognizable global brand interested in putting its name as presenting sponsor for the Indianapolis 500. There has to be a presenting sponsor that could provide a platform to promote the race and draw more viewers.
Penske is going to do better than PennGrade and Gainbridge. Penske is going to make sure he is getting every possible dollar he can when it comes to the Indianapolis 500 and the NTT IndyCar Series.
Con: The Speedway Could Become More Corporate
I am not saying in 2021 it will be the Miller Lite Indianapolis 500 but I think that is more likely than ever in the Penske Corporation-era at 16th and Georgetown.
If Roger Penske can get $10 million a year for ten years for title sponsorship of the race I think he will take it. Remember how people were flustered when Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka branding was painted on the walls and in the grass? You don't think Penske will try and sell premium ad space on the walls and surrounding areas of the racetrack?
I am all for maximizing profits and even said Indianapolis Motor Speedway should sell every square inch of barrier to a sponsor but there are a lot of sticks in the mud and will shake their fists at any change at Indianapolis Motor Speedway because heaven forbid the track looks any different then it did in 1948!
Remember when the Speedway changed the pork tenderloin provider and people got upset? You don't think Penske will do the same if it made him more money?
Penske is gunning to make a profit.
Pro: Roger Penske is a Successful Businessman
There is not a lot Penske has failed at.
He has many successful car dealerships, he has his trucking company and we haven't ever heard of Penske being in financial trouble or having something be fledgling. If anything, the worst business Penske has ever had was Team Penske from like late 1997 through early 2000.
Penske gets the job done and IndyCar needs a successful businessman. The series isn't at its worst point but it could definitely use a good kick in the pants. The series needs to grow. It needs more fans, more television viewers and more reasons for sponsors to invest and manufactures to enter.
I am not going to sit here and say in four years IndyCar will have an average of two-million viewers per race, five engine manufactures and multi-million dollar television deals in 50 countries but I think Penske is going to have the series in a better place than it is today.
We have to be realistic. Penske is not a miracle worker but I think he is going to do the smart thing and be thorough in the decision-making process. I think he is going to make sure the series is not getting swindled.
Con: Ticket Prices Increases
The Indianapolis 500 is one of the most underpriced events in the world of sports.
It costs $35 to get in. The most expensive ticket is $250 to get in the E Stand Penthouse.
On the secondary market, those $250 E Stand Penthouse tickets are going for $800 to $2,100.
Now, if people were willing to spend $800 on the secondary market, why wouldn't Penske Corporation start charging $800 out of the gate? If people are willing to spend $2,000, why not start charging $2,000?
The Speedway is leaving money on the table. Roger Penske isn't going to leave money on the table. Think about it this way... if there are 250,000 attendees for the Indianapolis 500 and Roger Penske can increase the average ticket price by $100 per attendee that is an extra $25 million in revenue.
You might not like it but, as I said before, Roger Penske is a successful businessman. How does one make money but from the pockets of other people?
Pro: Roger Penske Could Push the IndyCar Series Forward
I think many are hopeful that Roger Penske can be the man that leads to an increase in engine manufactures in the IndyCar Series.
Penske is a man who has been in business with nearly all of them. His current operations are the lead Chevrolet team in IndyCar, the lead Ford teams in NASCAR and Supercars and he runs the Acura Daytona Prototype international program in IMSA.
Penske has previously run Porsche, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Dodge and Toyota to name a few.
There are plenty of connections. IndyCar only needs one or two to lead to something.
This could be Penske's final hurrah and it could be bringing IndyCar back to some level of technological advancement. I don't think Penske will venture away from the DW12 chassis but I think he could open IndyCar a bit especially with the upcoming hybrid-era. We are probably not going to see the series push the envelope but it could be a more open place to different ideas.
I am not sure how much Penske can do versus how much Penske wants to do but if there is one man who could open the series to multiple new engine partners and draw them in it is Roger Penske.
Con: There Are Limitations For IndyCar
It is a series that gets about 400,000 viewers per race, has somewhere between 20,000 to 40,000 people at each race and has committed to hybrid technology at a time when manufactures are looking to full electric technology and sees Formula E as the place for that development.
Add to it an American market place where IndyCar might not be the best avenue for promoting a manufacture.
Ford and Toyota seem set in NASCAR with no interest in IndyCar.
Mercedes-Benz is focused on Formula One and Formula E.
Mazda is focused on its IMSA program.
Porsche was flirting with IndyCar but IndyCar blew that last April when it wasn't ready to commit to hybrid technology. Way to go IndyCar!
We have been talking about Fiat being interested in IndyCar for sometime and that has led nowhere.
Chrysler is too broke for an IndyCar program.
Just because Roger Penske is running IndyCar doesn't mean it is going to draw flies like honey. He can only do so much. He will do things that are great for the series but do not get down just because IndyCar is still only 24-26 full-time entries with Honda, Chevrolet and a third engine manufacture in four or five years. We are going to have to be able to accept little victories along the way.
Pro: Roger Penske Knows What it is Like to be a Car Owner
Roger Penske is not going to do anything that the current crop of car owners cannot handle, i.e. afford.
Roger Penske is not going to change the rulebook and turn it into CART circa 1994. He is not going to put Dale Coyne and Ed Carpenter out of business and scare off Mike Shank and DragonSpeed.
Jay Frye has been a great president for IndyCar and Frye had ownership experience in NASCAR. He has worked well with the IndyCar team owners, everyone seems to be on the same page and I don't see why Penske would not keep Frye around. I don't think Penske is going to rock the boat enough where it forces Frye out the door. Penske has probably talked to Frye and knows his value. He is hopefully going to keep him around.
We don't have to worry about someone coming in and talking about big plans only for it to be unrealistic for the current state of the series. Penske knows what he is working with.
Con: Potential Guaranteed Indianapolis 500 Positions
Be careful of what you wish for boys and girls. Roger Penske might be the ideal man to purchase Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series but that doesn't mean you are going to agree with everything he does.
Remember when I said Roger Penske is a successful businessman and knows what it is like to be a car owner? He is still going to be a car owner and own the series and own the Speedway. Penske has been a proponent of guaranteed Indianapolis 500 starting spots. He is a businessman. He wants to protect his partners. He wants to protect his business interest and the value of his race team.
Penske sees the value in guaranteed Indianapolis 500 positions and not just for him but for every team owner.
A significant portion of the fan base is not going to like that but that could be something that comes in the next few years. I don't think it will happen in 2020 or 2021 but 2022 or 2023 we could have full-time teams locked in.
Do not be surprised if in four or five years you start seeing headlines along the lines of "How Roger Penske Ruined the Indianapolis 500."
Pro: Roger Penske Knows What is Best
Penske has been around the block a couple thousand times.
He has gone through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in IndyCar. He has seen it all in all forms of motorsports. I think he is going to steer the ship in the right direction. Penske does a great job making sure the right people are in position to get a job done. He is not going to neglect IndyCar.
When it comes to promotions, finding sponsors, working with team owners, drivers, track owners, etc., Penske is going to find the right people to get it done.
Con: You Might Not Agree With Roger Penske
Like I said with guaranteed Indianapolis 500 starting spots, you might not agree with everything Roger Penske does.
The Indianapolis 500 might look different in the next few years. The command to start engines might no longer be a member of the Hulman George family and it might not be Roger Penske himself doing it. It could be a celebrity, someone who does not call Indiana home and this is the first time the person has ever heard of the Indianapolis 500. You know, the people that Indianapolis 500 fans despise.
When it comes to the IndyCar Series, the schedule could be condensed even more to save teams money. We could see all ovals go away expect for the Indianapolis 500. We could see an influx of street races.
You might be happy that Roger Penske is in charge but don't think this is going be all roses now.
Pro: We Know Roger Penske
Roger Penske was pretty clear how much this purchase meant to him.
He first went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 14 years old in 1951. As I said before, if Roger Penske missed an IndyCar race it was for a damn good reason. The Indianapolis 500 means the world to him. Indianapolis 500 victory is on top of the checklist every year for Team Penske. If the team wins the race it is mission accomplished before we get to June. If the team doesn't win the race I am not sure winning every other race on the calendar and the championship will make up for that defeat.
Penske is not going to shake it up to a point where we will no longer be able to identify the Indianapolis 500 or the IndyCar Series. He is not apart of the Hulman George family but he holds the same appreciation for the race, the place and the series.
Con: We Have No Clue What Will Happen Next
We think we know what we are getting ourselves into and we are happy it is a devil we know in Penske taking over rather than a devil we do not know. However, the devil we have only ever known is the Hulman George family. We have no clue what we are getting ourselves into.
Things are going to stay the same but things are going to change. What exactly changes is not clear but it is coming. It is going to throw people off. It is going to be tough for some people to swallow.
We got what we wanted. We will soon find out if we wanted the right thing.
Nobody saw the announcement that Roger Penske's Penske Corporation would purchase Hulman & Co., most notably its assets the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NTT IndyCar Series, coming.
Nobody.
For decades we have heard the rumors about potential buyers for Indianapolis Motor Speedway but those became like Olympic Games, popping up every two or four years but the masses would quickly move on. We had heard it all before and in the 74th-year of Hulman George family ownership it seemed the Speedway and IndyCar would remain in the family forever.
Mari Hulman George passed away on November 3, 2018 but Tony George, who created the Indy Racing League and turning American open-wheel racing upside down in the final days of the 20th century, was ready to ascend to the throne just shy of his 60th birthday.
The Speedway was ready to start its next chapter but no one saw the plot twist that occurred in the first paragraph.
The third generation of Hulman George family rule has abdicated and handed the palace over to the leading subject; the man that exhibited the greatest level of honor and integrity in the kingdom, Roger Penske.
The sale did not come after months of speculation. There were not constant rumors about a potential owner and denials of these changes. There was not the breaking news report from Robin Miller saying it was all but done with confirmation later in the week.
The Hulman George family did it on its terms and in complete secrecy. It didn't tease an announcement for a few days and slowly lead people to realize what was happening. It broke the news when the deal was done and when few were ready for it, 8:00 a.m. on a Monday morning. It was the first order of business for the week.
It is the storybook transfer of power. The house remains in the family if you will but it is a change. For nearly three-quarters of a century the same family ran Indianapolis Motor Speedway and dictated the direction of IndyCar. We were familiar with the decisions and how things would play out. We knew what lengths the Hulman George family would go. There were few surprises then came the day few any saw coming.
Many do not know how to feel about the news. It is familiar but uncomfortable. It isn't a stranger that is taking over but, for a fan base that survived two decades of turmoil because of The Split, the most seismic changes are met with uncertainty.
That is fine and in times of uncertainty it is best to go over the pros and the cons to figure out whether you should relax or if your trepidation is rightly placed.
We are going to look at 14 items, seven pros and seven cons, into Roger Penske taking over Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NTT IndyCar Series.
Pro: There is No Better Fit to Purchase Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Roger Penske is IndyCar.
No one has carried the water as far for as long as Roger Penske. The man entered in 1969. He has won 18 of 51 Indianapolis 500 runs since then. His team has won 16 championships. It has over 200 IndyCar victories.
The man was a leader of CART, bought a few speedways, built another and promoted many IndyCar races. He made famous moves such as bringing Mercedes-Benz back in 1994 and Chevrolet back in 2012.
As a man who has grown a global business empire and has expanded to many different racing series his first choice was always IndyCar, taking the role of strategist for one of his cars. If he missed an IndyCar race that one of his car was participating in it was for a damn good reason.
If there was anyone set up to take over Indianapolis Motor Speedway from the Hulman George family it is Roger Penske.
This day was bound to come. Nothing lasts forever. However, I think we all worried what would be next. The best buyer might not have been someone with this much love and interest as Penske. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a business venture after all, a place where a wealthy man would look to get richer. It would be another chance to diversify an account. There were going to be many possible suitors, some of which had no previous experience with motorsports.
In the 21st century, a time of increasing globalization, there was a chance the Indianapolis Motor Speedway could have been purchased by a wealthy sheik or Chinese billionaire. It could have been a massive shock to the series. It could have been an infusion of cash the series has never seen but it could have been a clash between the new owners and the fan base.
In the soccer world, for every Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain that were taken over by oil money from the Middle East, there is a Portsmouth and Cardiff City, clubs that saw rich men take over, soured the fan base and, in the case of Portsmouth, ran it into the ground.
IndyCar could have gotten a complete unknown and been stuck with it for an unknown length of time.
Con: Roger Penske is 82 Years Old
Mari Hulman George died one year and two days ago at 83 years old.
Roger Penske is not going to be around to run the Speedway and IndyCar for the next 74 years.
You have to be a little concerned that in five years we could be facing another circumstance of unknown direction for the Speedway and the series. Penske Corporation is not the Hulman George family. When Penske passes it is not necessarily going to Jay Penske, owner of Dragon Racing that competes in Formula E and once competed in IndyCar. Jay Penske has his own interests.
There are plenty of people in Penske Corporation that are motorsports savvy but do they want to run Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar? Do they only want one or the other? Do they see both as deadweight and want to offload it quickly?
All that seems crazy to say but the regime that follows Roger Penske might have a different valuation of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar. Do we really want to be going through a period of turmoil in 2025 or 2030 as Penske Corporation looks for a buyer?
Tony George turns 60 years old on December 30. I think most of us would have been happy with Tony George running the Speedway and Hulman & Co. for the next 15-20 years. We would have known what we are dealing with. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the Hulman George family business. George was not going anywhere nor would other business interest distract him. The Speedway was the baby.
After George, there were his three sisters and another generation of Hulman George family members, one of which is former NASCAR Grand National Series driver Kyle Krisiloff, grandson to Mari Hulman George.
We knew the line of succession in the Hulman George family. A lot of people think Tim Cindric is next in line to run the Penske organization but are we really sure of that?
Pro: Roger Penske Can Take the Speedway to a Higher Level
For the longest time we have wondered if Indianapolis Motor Speedway was getting the most out of the facility, the series and the Indianapolis 500. Roger Penske takes everything to a higher level.
Penske has all the connections. He is plugged in all over the world, from the boardrooms in New York, London and Sydney. He is in the know with a countless number of billionaires. If the series is ever in need of a sponsor or a partner Penske is going to get a deal done.
When Gainbridge was announced as the presenting sponsor for the Indianapolis 500 I wondered if Indianapolis Motor Speedway was shooting too low. The Indianapolis 500 did not have a presenting sponsor until the 100th edition and the two it has had are PennGrade Motor Oil and Gainbridge, two Indiana-based companies.
Working with two Indiana-based companies is on brand for the Hulman George family but was PennGrade and Gainbridge really the best the family could have done for the Indianapolis 500?
It is the Indianapolis 500! A couple million people watch on television and even more people listen on the radio alone in the United States. It has a fair share of international viewers. There has to be a recognizable global brand interested in putting its name as presenting sponsor for the Indianapolis 500. There has to be a presenting sponsor that could provide a platform to promote the race and draw more viewers.
Penske is going to do better than PennGrade and Gainbridge. Penske is going to make sure he is getting every possible dollar he can when it comes to the Indianapolis 500 and the NTT IndyCar Series.
Con: The Speedway Could Become More Corporate
I am not saying in 2021 it will be the Miller Lite Indianapolis 500 but I think that is more likely than ever in the Penske Corporation-era at 16th and Georgetown.
If Roger Penske can get $10 million a year for ten years for title sponsorship of the race I think he will take it. Remember how people were flustered when Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka branding was painted on the walls and in the grass? You don't think Penske will try and sell premium ad space on the walls and surrounding areas of the racetrack?
I am all for maximizing profits and even said Indianapolis Motor Speedway should sell every square inch of barrier to a sponsor but there are a lot of sticks in the mud and will shake their fists at any change at Indianapolis Motor Speedway because heaven forbid the track looks any different then it did in 1948!
Remember when the Speedway changed the pork tenderloin provider and people got upset? You don't think Penske will do the same if it made him more money?
Penske is gunning to make a profit.
Pro: Roger Penske is a Successful Businessman
There is not a lot Penske has failed at.
He has many successful car dealerships, he has his trucking company and we haven't ever heard of Penske being in financial trouble or having something be fledgling. If anything, the worst business Penske has ever had was Team Penske from like late 1997 through early 2000.
Penske gets the job done and IndyCar needs a successful businessman. The series isn't at its worst point but it could definitely use a good kick in the pants. The series needs to grow. It needs more fans, more television viewers and more reasons for sponsors to invest and manufactures to enter.
I am not going to sit here and say in four years IndyCar will have an average of two-million viewers per race, five engine manufactures and multi-million dollar television deals in 50 countries but I think Penske is going to have the series in a better place than it is today.
We have to be realistic. Penske is not a miracle worker but I think he is going to do the smart thing and be thorough in the decision-making process. I think he is going to make sure the series is not getting swindled.
Con: Ticket Prices Increases
The Indianapolis 500 is one of the most underpriced events in the world of sports.
It costs $35 to get in. The most expensive ticket is $250 to get in the E Stand Penthouse.
On the secondary market, those $250 E Stand Penthouse tickets are going for $800 to $2,100.
Now, if people were willing to spend $800 on the secondary market, why wouldn't Penske Corporation start charging $800 out of the gate? If people are willing to spend $2,000, why not start charging $2,000?
The Speedway is leaving money on the table. Roger Penske isn't going to leave money on the table. Think about it this way... if there are 250,000 attendees for the Indianapolis 500 and Roger Penske can increase the average ticket price by $100 per attendee that is an extra $25 million in revenue.
You might not like it but, as I said before, Roger Penske is a successful businessman. How does one make money but from the pockets of other people?
Pro: Roger Penske Could Push the IndyCar Series Forward
I think many are hopeful that Roger Penske can be the man that leads to an increase in engine manufactures in the IndyCar Series.
Penske is a man who has been in business with nearly all of them. His current operations are the lead Chevrolet team in IndyCar, the lead Ford teams in NASCAR and Supercars and he runs the Acura Daytona Prototype international program in IMSA.
Penske has previously run Porsche, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Dodge and Toyota to name a few.
There are plenty of connections. IndyCar only needs one or two to lead to something.
This could be Penske's final hurrah and it could be bringing IndyCar back to some level of technological advancement. I don't think Penske will venture away from the DW12 chassis but I think he could open IndyCar a bit especially with the upcoming hybrid-era. We are probably not going to see the series push the envelope but it could be a more open place to different ideas.
I am not sure how much Penske can do versus how much Penske wants to do but if there is one man who could open the series to multiple new engine partners and draw them in it is Roger Penske.
Con: There Are Limitations For IndyCar
It is a series that gets about 400,000 viewers per race, has somewhere between 20,000 to 40,000 people at each race and has committed to hybrid technology at a time when manufactures are looking to full electric technology and sees Formula E as the place for that development.
Add to it an American market place where IndyCar might not be the best avenue for promoting a manufacture.
Ford and Toyota seem set in NASCAR with no interest in IndyCar.
Mercedes-Benz is focused on Formula One and Formula E.
Mazda is focused on its IMSA program.
Porsche was flirting with IndyCar but IndyCar blew that last April when it wasn't ready to commit to hybrid technology. Way to go IndyCar!
We have been talking about Fiat being interested in IndyCar for sometime and that has led nowhere.
Chrysler is too broke for an IndyCar program.
Just because Roger Penske is running IndyCar doesn't mean it is going to draw flies like honey. He can only do so much. He will do things that are great for the series but do not get down just because IndyCar is still only 24-26 full-time entries with Honda, Chevrolet and a third engine manufacture in four or five years. We are going to have to be able to accept little victories along the way.
Pro: Roger Penske Knows What it is Like to be a Car Owner
Roger Penske is not going to do anything that the current crop of car owners cannot handle, i.e. afford.
Roger Penske is not going to change the rulebook and turn it into CART circa 1994. He is not going to put Dale Coyne and Ed Carpenter out of business and scare off Mike Shank and DragonSpeed.
Jay Frye has been a great president for IndyCar and Frye had ownership experience in NASCAR. He has worked well with the IndyCar team owners, everyone seems to be on the same page and I don't see why Penske would not keep Frye around. I don't think Penske is going to rock the boat enough where it forces Frye out the door. Penske has probably talked to Frye and knows his value. He is hopefully going to keep him around.
We don't have to worry about someone coming in and talking about big plans only for it to be unrealistic for the current state of the series. Penske knows what he is working with.
Con: Potential Guaranteed Indianapolis 500 Positions
Be careful of what you wish for boys and girls. Roger Penske might be the ideal man to purchase Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series but that doesn't mean you are going to agree with everything he does.
Remember when I said Roger Penske is a successful businessman and knows what it is like to be a car owner? He is still going to be a car owner and own the series and own the Speedway. Penske has been a proponent of guaranteed Indianapolis 500 starting spots. He is a businessman. He wants to protect his partners. He wants to protect his business interest and the value of his race team.
Penske sees the value in guaranteed Indianapolis 500 positions and not just for him but for every team owner.
A significant portion of the fan base is not going to like that but that could be something that comes in the next few years. I don't think it will happen in 2020 or 2021 but 2022 or 2023 we could have full-time teams locked in.
Do not be surprised if in four or five years you start seeing headlines along the lines of "How Roger Penske Ruined the Indianapolis 500."
Pro: Roger Penske Knows What is Best
Penske has been around the block a couple thousand times.
He has gone through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in IndyCar. He has seen it all in all forms of motorsports. I think he is going to steer the ship in the right direction. Penske does a great job making sure the right people are in position to get a job done. He is not going to neglect IndyCar.
When it comes to promotions, finding sponsors, working with team owners, drivers, track owners, etc., Penske is going to find the right people to get it done.
Con: You Might Not Agree With Roger Penske
Like I said with guaranteed Indianapolis 500 starting spots, you might not agree with everything Roger Penske does.
The Indianapolis 500 might look different in the next few years. The command to start engines might no longer be a member of the Hulman George family and it might not be Roger Penske himself doing it. It could be a celebrity, someone who does not call Indiana home and this is the first time the person has ever heard of the Indianapolis 500. You know, the people that Indianapolis 500 fans despise.
When it comes to the IndyCar Series, the schedule could be condensed even more to save teams money. We could see all ovals go away expect for the Indianapolis 500. We could see an influx of street races.
You might be happy that Roger Penske is in charge but don't think this is going be all roses now.
Pro: We Know Roger Penske
Roger Penske was pretty clear how much this purchase meant to him.
He first went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 14 years old in 1951. As I said before, if Roger Penske missed an IndyCar race it was for a damn good reason. The Indianapolis 500 means the world to him. Indianapolis 500 victory is on top of the checklist every year for Team Penske. If the team wins the race it is mission accomplished before we get to June. If the team doesn't win the race I am not sure winning every other race on the calendar and the championship will make up for that defeat.
Penske is not going to shake it up to a point where we will no longer be able to identify the Indianapolis 500 or the IndyCar Series. He is not apart of the Hulman George family but he holds the same appreciation for the race, the place and the series.
Con: We Have No Clue What Will Happen Next
We think we know what we are getting ourselves into and we are happy it is a devil we know in Penske taking over rather than a devil we do not know. However, the devil we have only ever known is the Hulman George family. We have no clue what we are getting ourselves into.
Things are going to stay the same but things are going to change. What exactly changes is not clear but it is coming. It is going to throw people off. It is going to be tough for some people to swallow.
We got what we wanted. We will soon find out if we wanted the right thing.
Monday, November 4, 2019
Musings From the Weekend: IndyCar's Decade of Failing to go Abroad
South Africa is world champions. Lewis Hamilton clinched his sixth World Drivers' Championship with a runner-up finish to Mercedes-AMG teammate Valtteri Bottas in the United States Grand Prix. Marc Márquez and Álex Márquez were runner-up finishers in the MotoGP and Moto2 race respectively and Álex's result locked up the Moto2 world championship, his second world championship and first since Moto3 in 2014, a year where Marc also won the MotoGP world championship. Jenson Button called it a career in Super GT after two seasons. NASCAR had some races in Texas. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
IndyCar's Decade of Failing to go Abroad
One of the things that will stand out from the 2010s for IndyCar is all the talk the series had about flying around the world and bringing the series to different countries but ultimately ending up with really nothing to show for it.
IndyCar's failed international plans will not be the biggest takeaway from the decade, one that saw the introduction of the DW12 chassis, the introduction of two new engine manufactures, the exit of one of those engine manufactures, the rise of American drivers after a dormant period for domestic talent and success attracting title sponsors when contracts expired, but with IndyCar again playing footsies with an international partner, this time Sydney, Australia, we must remember how the last ten years have played out.
There was a successful international event, São Paulo. Successful as in the race happened. IndyCar ran on the streets of São Paulo four times and the races were pretty successful. The race drew a nice crowd, the likes of Tony Kanaan and Hélio Castroneves brought out locals and the races were quite good. A few races had rain significantly hamper proceedings but it was a track with a few passing zones and the final time IndyCar went there it put on one of the best street courses in series history.
Unfortunately, the São Paulo race only had a four-race run despite the contract being extended through 2019. IndyCar sued the promoter Grupo Bandeirantes because the promoter was responsible for finding an alternate venue.
While not able to survive half the decade, São Paulo at least got off the ground and put on a race. No other international race joined the calendar in the 2010s despite a few venues being penciled on the schedule and repeated talks about an international series of races to lead off a season.
The first mishit was Qingdao, China. That was scheduled for August 19, 2012. It was a big winner for then-IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard. IndyCar was going to the most populous country in the world, it was going to be a cash infusion to the series and the rug was pulled out from underneath the series two months before the race was scheduled to take place.
While São Paulo was discontinued, a new Brazilian home for IndyCar was found in Brasilia for the 2015 season opener. However, six weeks before the March 8th race date, the newly elected officials cancelled the race.
Brasilia wasn't the only failed trip in 2015. Though never on a drafted schedule, a street race in Dubai was significantly linked to the 2015 IndyCar calendar but that never happened.
With the redevelopment of Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City the track that hosts the Mexican Grand Prix and Formula E was a rumored venue for the 2018 IndyCar season but the two sides could not come together on a possible date. With the rise of Patricio O'Ward there was some hope IndyCar could return to Mexico but nothing was put together for 2019 and all has gone quiet about a trip south.
After the 2018 season, IndyCar re-ignited talks with Surfers Paradise about a possible return after having last raced on the street course in 2008.
There has been some hurdles over Surfers Paradise. IndyCar would like the race in February but the Supercars weekend is in October. The city is not going to shut down the streets twice and Supercars isn't open to moving the race to the front end of the schedule.
With Surfers Paradise in flux, Sydney has swept in as a potential IndyCar host. Sydney Motorsports Park was not on the 2019 Supercars schedule but will return for the last weekend in August in 2020. The difference between Sydney Motorsports Park and Surfers Paradise is the former is a permanent circuit and can host multiple race weekends over the course of the year.
IndyCar's track record is not good on this topic despite it being a stated desire for the series to have a larger international footprint. Mark Miles was promoting an international series of races before the North American season would begin at least five years ago and that has never occurred. IndyCar is batting 1-for-5 on these events and the desired surge of funding from an international sanctioning fee has not filled any wallets.
There might not be much to show for all these international talks but IndyCar is arguably doing it the right way. I doubt anyone wants IndyCar to have a bunch of one-and-done international races. The series wants a place where it knows it is going to see the money and can be there for an extended period. The dying years of CART and Champ Car saw the series swinging for the fences with international races hoping to keep the series afloat but it had no long-term strategy. IndyCar is not doing that. It is not hyping one international race only for it to be gone after a year and then trying to wind up the circus to get excited for another race in another part of the world in the same breath.
While not falling back on an international race IndyCar has focused on the domestic schedule and making sure that is at its strongest. We have seen Road America, Portland and Gateway all return to the schedule and all bring strong crowds. In 2015, none of those three tracks were on the schedule. Heading into 2020 those are three of the most anticipated weekends of the season because the crowd is electric. These are places that want IndyCar and support the series.
Putting together a schedule is not an easy task. No one has ever found the perfect schedule and can kick his or her feet up for the next 25 years. Schedules are fluid. It is something that must constantly be managed and IndyCar has done the best it can.
It is hard to get excited for any proposed international race after the last decade because it is not worth getting excited. These races have either been nothing but hot air and mirages. It is unfortunate that it has been such a difficult thing for IndyCar to grasp but it is not the fault of the series. The series is trying to do good business and look out for itself. I am sure there has been international money out there but it is on the series to make sure it is getting a fair price and the funding is stable.
While failing to go abroad, IndyCar has made gains. It is looking for the right international venue. It does not want to find itself on an international merry-go-round with no clue where it will end up next.
Champions From the Weekend
You know about South Africa, Lewis Hamilton and Álex Márquez but did you know...
The #6 Lexus Team LeMans Wako's Lexus of Kazuya Oshima and Kenta Yamashita won the Super GT G500 championship with a second place finish at Motegi.
The #55 ARTA Honda of Nirei Fukuzumi and Shinchi Takagi won the Super GT GT300 championship with a fourth place finish at Motegi.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Valtteri Bottas but did you know...
Maverick Viñales won MotoGP's Malaysian Grand Prix. Brad Binder won the Moto2 race, his second consecutive victory and his fourth victory of the season. Moto3 race.
NASCAR Cup race from Texas. Christopher Bell won the Grand National Series race, his eighth victory of the season.
The #37 Lexus Team KeePer's Tom's Lexus of Ryō Hirakawa and Nick Cassidy won the Super GT race from Motegi. The #11 GAINER Nissan of Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Hironobu Yasuda won the GT300 race.
Coming Up This Weekend
NASCAR's penultimate weekend of 2019 from Phoenix.
Supercars final endurance round of 2019 from Sandown.
FIA World Endurance Championship has its third round of 2019-20 from Shanghai.
IndyCar's Decade of Failing to go Abroad
One of the things that will stand out from the 2010s for IndyCar is all the talk the series had about flying around the world and bringing the series to different countries but ultimately ending up with really nothing to show for it.
IndyCar's failed international plans will not be the biggest takeaway from the decade, one that saw the introduction of the DW12 chassis, the introduction of two new engine manufactures, the exit of one of those engine manufactures, the rise of American drivers after a dormant period for domestic talent and success attracting title sponsors when contracts expired, but with IndyCar again playing footsies with an international partner, this time Sydney, Australia, we must remember how the last ten years have played out.
There was a successful international event, São Paulo. Successful as in the race happened. IndyCar ran on the streets of São Paulo four times and the races were pretty successful. The race drew a nice crowd, the likes of Tony Kanaan and Hélio Castroneves brought out locals and the races were quite good. A few races had rain significantly hamper proceedings but it was a track with a few passing zones and the final time IndyCar went there it put on one of the best street courses in series history.
Unfortunately, the São Paulo race only had a four-race run despite the contract being extended through 2019. IndyCar sued the promoter Grupo Bandeirantes because the promoter was responsible for finding an alternate venue.
While not able to survive half the decade, São Paulo at least got off the ground and put on a race. No other international race joined the calendar in the 2010s despite a few venues being penciled on the schedule and repeated talks about an international series of races to lead off a season.
The first mishit was Qingdao, China. That was scheduled for August 19, 2012. It was a big winner for then-IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard. IndyCar was going to the most populous country in the world, it was going to be a cash infusion to the series and the rug was pulled out from underneath the series two months before the race was scheduled to take place.
While São Paulo was discontinued, a new Brazilian home for IndyCar was found in Brasilia for the 2015 season opener. However, six weeks before the March 8th race date, the newly elected officials cancelled the race.
Brasilia wasn't the only failed trip in 2015. Though never on a drafted schedule, a street race in Dubai was significantly linked to the 2015 IndyCar calendar but that never happened.
With the redevelopment of Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City the track that hosts the Mexican Grand Prix and Formula E was a rumored venue for the 2018 IndyCar season but the two sides could not come together on a possible date. With the rise of Patricio O'Ward there was some hope IndyCar could return to Mexico but nothing was put together for 2019 and all has gone quiet about a trip south.
After the 2018 season, IndyCar re-ignited talks with Surfers Paradise about a possible return after having last raced on the street course in 2008.
There has been some hurdles over Surfers Paradise. IndyCar would like the race in February but the Supercars weekend is in October. The city is not going to shut down the streets twice and Supercars isn't open to moving the race to the front end of the schedule.
With Surfers Paradise in flux, Sydney has swept in as a potential IndyCar host. Sydney Motorsports Park was not on the 2019 Supercars schedule but will return for the last weekend in August in 2020. The difference between Sydney Motorsports Park and Surfers Paradise is the former is a permanent circuit and can host multiple race weekends over the course of the year.
IndyCar's track record is not good on this topic despite it being a stated desire for the series to have a larger international footprint. Mark Miles was promoting an international series of races before the North American season would begin at least five years ago and that has never occurred. IndyCar is batting 1-for-5 on these events and the desired surge of funding from an international sanctioning fee has not filled any wallets.
There might not be much to show for all these international talks but IndyCar is arguably doing it the right way. I doubt anyone wants IndyCar to have a bunch of one-and-done international races. The series wants a place where it knows it is going to see the money and can be there for an extended period. The dying years of CART and Champ Car saw the series swinging for the fences with international races hoping to keep the series afloat but it had no long-term strategy. IndyCar is not doing that. It is not hyping one international race only for it to be gone after a year and then trying to wind up the circus to get excited for another race in another part of the world in the same breath.
While not falling back on an international race IndyCar has focused on the domestic schedule and making sure that is at its strongest. We have seen Road America, Portland and Gateway all return to the schedule and all bring strong crowds. In 2015, none of those three tracks were on the schedule. Heading into 2020 those are three of the most anticipated weekends of the season because the crowd is electric. These are places that want IndyCar and support the series.
Putting together a schedule is not an easy task. No one has ever found the perfect schedule and can kick his or her feet up for the next 25 years. Schedules are fluid. It is something that must constantly be managed and IndyCar has done the best it can.
It is hard to get excited for any proposed international race after the last decade because it is not worth getting excited. These races have either been nothing but hot air and mirages. It is unfortunate that it has been such a difficult thing for IndyCar to grasp but it is not the fault of the series. The series is trying to do good business and look out for itself. I am sure there has been international money out there but it is on the series to make sure it is getting a fair price and the funding is stable.
While failing to go abroad, IndyCar has made gains. It is looking for the right international venue. It does not want to find itself on an international merry-go-round with no clue where it will end up next.
Champions From the Weekend
You know about South Africa, Lewis Hamilton and Álex Márquez but did you know...
The #6 Lexus Team LeMans Wako's Lexus of Kazuya Oshima and Kenta Yamashita won the Super GT G500 championship with a second place finish at Motegi.
The #55 ARTA Honda of Nirei Fukuzumi and Shinchi Takagi won the Super GT GT300 championship with a fourth place finish at Motegi.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Valtteri Bottas but did you know...
Maverick Viñales won MotoGP's Malaysian Grand Prix. Brad Binder won the Moto2 race, his second consecutive victory and his fourth victory of the season. Moto3 race.
NASCAR Cup race from Texas. Christopher Bell won the Grand National Series race, his eighth victory of the season.
The #37 Lexus Team KeePer's Tom's Lexus of Ryō Hirakawa and Nick Cassidy won the Super GT race from Motegi. The #11 GAINER Nissan of Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Hironobu Yasuda won the GT300 race.
Coming Up This Weekend
NASCAR's penultimate weekend of 2019 from Phoenix.
Supercars final endurance round of 2019 from Sandown.
FIA World Endurance Championship has its third round of 2019-20 from Shanghai.
Friday, November 1, 2019
2019 Super Formula Review
Last weekend saw the 2019 Super Formula season wrap up. Super Formula has seen a rise in interest over the last few seasons as the likes of Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly venture into the series as a stepping stone to Formula One.
The 2019 season was no different with another Red Bull hopeful thirsted into the series with a few drivers with strong domestic ties in Japan emerging as potential international players. For another season the championship went to the wire and saw driver on top entering the final race exit without a trophy.
This review will go team-by-team based on the teams' championship and look back at what was written before the start of the season and what happened over the seven-race calendar.
DoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing (50 Points)
Naoki Yamamoto: #1 DoCoMo Dandelion M1S SF19-Honda (2nd, 33 Points)
What did I write before the season: As for this season, I think Yamamoto will put up a valiant title defense and he should win a race or two. If he does that he very well could win the championship but it will all come down to what happens in the remaining rounds.
What happened: Yamamoto entered the finale leading the championship and in a reverse of 2018, Yamamoto exited in second place in the championship, three points behind Nick Cassidy.
It wasn't for a lack of results. A successful title defense seemed almost certain after the first three races with two runner-up finishes and a victory at Sportsland SUGO. After scoring 27 points in the first three races he scored only six points over the next four races.
Nirei Fukuzumi: #5 DoCoMo Dandelion M5Y SF19-Honda (7th, 18 points)
What did I write before the season: Fukuzumi was competitive in testing and was not far off his teammate and in some cases he was quicker than Yamamoto. I think he will be a regular points scorer and end up on the podium a few times. Could he win a race? I wouldn't rule it out but it will not come easy.
What happened: Fukuzumi did not win a race but he finished third in the finale at Suzuka and he had three other finishes of fifth, leaving him seventh in the championship. He also had a promising day at Okayama end early due to a spin off course.
Vantelin Team TOM's (48 Points)
Kazuki Nakajima: #36 Vantelin Kowa TOM's SF19-Toyota (12th, 12 Points)
What did I write before the season: Nakajima is set. He is the staple of the Toyota LMP1 program. He has only won one race in the last three seasons. I think he will be a championship contender and I think it is because of his new teammate, Nick Cassidy.
What happened: Nakajima was not a championship contender and he was handily beat in the intra-team battle. While he did finish second in the penultimate race at Okayama, his only other finish in the points was fifth in a soaking wet Fuji race.
Nick Cassidy: #37 Vantelin Kowa TOM's SF19-Toyota (1st, 36 Points)
What did I write before the season: Cassidy is something special and I think Toyota has eyes on him. He was unfortunate roles were not reversed between him and Yamamoto. He led the Super Formula championship entering the final round and was one point behind Yamamoto and Button in GT500 entering the final race. He has to be on Toyota's radar for the LMP1 program. What else could he do? I don't see him being a full-time driver in the Lexus GTD program but if Lexus/Toyota decides to enter DPi, I wouldn't be surprised if he got a call.
What happened: Cassidy won the championship in comeback fashion. He entered the finale one point behind Yamamoto and tire strategy determined the championship. Cassidy started on the soft tires and kept going, opening a gap that could not be made up by Yamamoto and others that started on the medium compound and switched to the soft compound. It got Cassidy second while the best Yamamoto could do was fifth.
TCS Nakajima Racing (28 Points)
Álex Palou: #64 TCS Nakajima Racing SF19-Honda (3rd, 26 Points)
What did I write before the season: Palou has shown spurts of speed throughout his junior formula career. He took the old school path of leaving the European ladder system for a shot in Japan similar to Pedro de la Rosa, Ralf Schumacher and Michael Krumm. Nakajima Racing has not won a race since he 2010 season opener at Suzuka. Palou was quickest at the Suzuka test and was toward the top of the timesheet in the Fuji test. I think he will score points and maybe he could score a surprise podium finish or even victory.
What happened: Palou was fantastic and he picked up a smashing victory in the wet at Fuji. The Catalan driver picked up two other pole positions at Motegi and the Suzuka finale. It was a rookie season worth celebrating for Palou.
Tadasuke Makino: #65 TCS Nakajima Racing SF19-Honda (16th, 6 Points)
What did I write before the season: Makino was slower than his teammate in testing and I think Makino will score some points. As for the long-term, after years in Europe, he now has to establish who he is in Japan and has to build from here.
What happened: Makino was the surprise pole-sitter at the Suzuka season opener but his race ended after 26 laps and he finished sixth in the second race of the season at Autopolis but he could not match the pace of his teammate through the rest of the season and did not score another point in 2019.
Itochu Enex Team Impul (27 Points)
Yuhi Sekiguchi: #19 Itochu Enex Team Impul SF19-Toyota (8th, 16 Points)
What did I write before the season: Sekiguchi has been on the fringe of championship contention for the last few seasons but this year could be a step back and part of the reason comes in from within the team. He could finish in the top five of the championship.
What happened: Sekiguchi won at Autopolis from 16th starting position but he did take a step back after finishing third, fourth and fourth in his first three Super Formula seasons. His Autopolis victory was his only podium finish of 2019, the fewest podium finishes he has had in a season. His three points finishes were also a career low for Sekiguchi.
Ryō Hirakawa: #20 Itochu Enex Team Impul SF19-Toyota (10th, 12 Points)
What did I write before the season: Hirakawa seems to be a rising star. He finished one point behind Sekiguchi in the championship last year. I think he will get his first career victory this season and be the top Team Impul driver.
What happened: Hirakawa picked up his first career Super Formula victory in the antepenultimate race at Motegi after passing Palou on the racetrack and a successful pit stop got him out in the lead. However, Hirakawa struggled to score points with his only other finish in the points being eighth in the finale and he got a point for pole position at Okayama.
Kondō Racing (25 Points)
Kenta Yamashita: #3 Orientalbio Kondo SF19-Toyota (5th, 21 Points)
What did I write before the season: Yamashita has been fairly successful but he has yet to have a major breakthrough. He is still a relatively new driver in Super GT and Super Formula. He is definitely down the pecking order when it comes to Toyota drivers but he was one of the top Toyota drivers during testing. He is coming off his best finish and Kondō Racing won the teams' championship last year. I think Yamashita could be pushing for the top five of the championship.
What happened: Yamashita was fifth in the championship, which came after a well-run strategy at Okayama got him the victory and he finished in the points in the first three races, one of three drivers to do that alongside Cassidy and Yamamoto.
Yuji Kunimoto: #4 Orientalbio Kondo SF19-Toyota (17th, 5 Points)
What did I write before the season: Kunimoto was not far off his teammate in testing and I think this season can be marginally better than his last two in Super Formula.
What happened: This was a season back for Kunimoto after finishing eighth in the last two seasons. He had points finishes with sixth in the season opener at Suzuka, eighth at Sportsland SUGO and he picked up a point for pole position at Autopolis and then did not score any points in the final four races.
Team Mugen (25 Points)
Daniel Ticktum: #15 Team Mugen SF19-Honda (20th, 1 Point)
What did I write before the season: Ticktum is on the Red Bull Formula One path, which could be great or it could ruin his career before he is 22 years old. He turns 20 in June for perspective. Red Bull wanted him in Toro Rosso this year but he didn't have enough Super License points and the team had to settle with Daniil Kvyat. Team Mugen won the title last year with Yamamoto but Yamamoto left the team over his dissatisfaction over the team's results. Yamamoto carried the load for this team and was the only driver to score points. I think Ticktum only gets a handful of points and again will fall short of the Super License points desired. He needs five points meaning he needs to finish fifth in the championship this year. Unless Team Mugen has a massive turnaround I do not see that happening.
What happened: The Dan Ticktum experiment with Red Bull ended after three races where Ticktum's only point came at the Suzuka season opener.
Patricio O'Ward: #15 Team Mugen SF19-Honda (18th, 3 Points)
How did he do as a substitute: Red Bull's flavor of the month for July 2019 had finishes of 14th, 14th and sixth before Red Bull lost interest for a driver with zero Super Llicense points that replaced a driver that had 35 Super License points and was just trying to get those final five Super License and be eligible for Formula One.
Jüri Vips: #15 Team Mugen SF19-Honda (23rd, 0 Points)
How did he do as a substitute: Vips stalled the car and he could only manage 18th on his Super Formula debut.
Tomoki Nojiri: #16 Team Mugen SF19-Honda (4th, 24 Points)
What did I write before the season: Nojiri was apart of the Team Dandelion Racing-Team Mugen team swap. I think he will finish ahead of Ticktum in the championship. I think he has settled into a good spot in Honda's Japanese programs.
What happened: Nojiji had encouraging results, most notably with a pair of fourth place finishes at the Suzuka season opener and the monsoon at Fuji and the season concluded with a victory in the Suzuka finale after starting on the soft tires and running away with a gap large enough to switch to the harder compound and come out on top.
JMS P.mu/cerumo INGING (22 Points)
Hiroaki Ishiura: #38 JMS P.mu/cerumo INGING SF19-Toyota (13th, 10 Points)
What did I write before the season: Ishiura has a career in Japan and I think he will be competitive but take a step back from third in the championship. He has won at least one race each of the last four seasons. That could end this year. I think the grid is really good.
What happened: Ishiura's winning streak ended at four consecutive seasons and after finishing in the top five of the championship in the last five seasons and in the top ten for the last eight seasons he participated in, Ishiura got his worst championship finish since his rookie season when he was 16th in 2008. He did end strong with four finishes in the points in the final five races but his best result was sixth at Motegi and the Suzuka finale.
Sho Tsuboi: #39 JMS P.mu/cerumo INGING SF19-Toyota (11th, 12 Points)
What did I write before the season: This is part of the reason why Ishiura will take a step back. Tsuboi was slightly faster than Ishiura in testing and he is coming in as a promising young driver. He has dominated the junior series in Japan. Despite his success, he is 23 years old. This isn't a teenager but he is still young and this is his first big step. He needs to get results and I think he will do well. I think he could finish on the podium.
What happened: Tsuboi was runner-up in the wet Fuji race but his only other finish in the points was fifth in the Suzuka season opener.
B-MAX with Motopark (20 Points)
Lucas Auer: #50 Red Bull SF19-Honda (9th, 14 Points)
What did I write before the season: I am not sure. Auer is returning to single-seaters and it is a new set of tracks for him. I do not have high hopes for him. Maybe he scores a few points, which would be a big step up since B-MAX has not scored a point the last two seasons.
What happened: Auer scored points in four of seven races and his best finish was third at Sportsland SUGO. He did cough up a great opportunity in the season finale when he stalled on the grid at the start from third starting position.
Harrison Newey: #51 Goldex Tairoku Racing SF19-Honda (15th, 6 Points)
What did I write before the season: Testing was promising. Newey was consistently 13th or 14th in testing. Maybe he gets a finish or two in the points but the bar is kept low.
What happened: After not finishing in the top fifteen in the first five races, Newey ended up on the podium thanks to tire strategy, safety car periods, cars spinning and the race ending early due to the time limit. He followed it up with a 20th place result in the finale.
carrozzeria Team KCMG (19 Points)
Kamui Kobayashi: #18 KCMG Elyse SF19-Toyota (6th, 19 Points)
What did I write before the season: Kobayashi is set. He is a Toyota LMP1 driver. He is set. It is surprising he has yet to win a race in this series after four seasons. If it is going to happen it should happen in year five.
What happened: Kobayashi had runner-up finishes at Sportsland SUGO and Motegi with a sixth at Fuji sandwiched in-between. Unfortunately, he lost a likely top five result at Okayama when he spun battling with Cassidy for a spot on the podium. Kobayashi has made 36 Super Formula starts and has yet to score a victory but has five runner-up finishes and seven podium finishes and he matched his career best championship finish.
UOMO SUNOCO Team LeMans (7 Points)
Artem Markelov: #7 UOMO SUNOCO SF19-Toyota (21st, 0 Points)
What did I write before the season: Markelov was at the bottom of the timesheet for most of testing and I think he will struggle. I am not sure where Markelov's career goes from here. The Formula One route didn't work out. Could he end up like most Russian drivers and in the SMP Racing program? Yeah, probably.
What happened: Markelov did not score a point before returning to Formula Two to run for Arden after the death of Anthoine Hubert.
Yuichi Nakayama: #7 UOMO SUNOCO SF19-Toyota (22nd 0 Points)
How did he do as a substitute: Worse than Markelov. Nakayama's finishes were 15th and 16th while Markelov's average finish was 15.2. This was Nakayama's first time in Super Formula since 2014. In those nine starts in 2014, Nakayama's best finish was tenth at Fuji.
Kazuya Oshima: #8 UOMO SUNOCO SF19-Toyota (14th, 7 Points)
What did I write before the season: Oshima is kind of set with a career in Japan. Nothing wrong with that and for this year I think he will be ahead of Markelov most of the year but points scoring will be rare.
What happened: Oshima picked up third in that odd Autopolis round and his only other finish in the points was eighth in the odd Okayama race.
Real Racing (2 Points)
Tristan Charpentier: #17 Real SF19-Honda (Not Classified, 0 Points)
What did I write before the season: I am not sure. Charpenter is the most inexperience driver on the grid and he was at the bottom of each test session. It would be a surprise if he scored points this season. Worst case scenario is he will be an LMP3 driver or LMP2 driver in the European Le Mans Series in the next few years.
What happened: Charpentier's Super Formula carer lasted all of seven laps when he went off course.
Koudai Tsukakoshi: #17 Real SF19-Honda (19th, 2 Points)
How did he do as a substitute: The Real Racing car was never going to be a world-beater and the veteran Tsukakoshi did the best he could but the season ended on a positive note when he finished seventh in the Suzuka finale, preventing the team from being shutout in the 2019 season.
Conclusion
It should not be a surprise the championship again came down to Nick Cassidy and Naoki Yamamoto. These two drivers have been two of the best competitors in Japan and while neither has been as prolific as they were in 2018 in Super Formula and Super GT, both have been outstanding and are always a threat for victory.
Yamamoto will be unsuccessful in defending both Super Formula and Super GT's GT500 championships but Cassidy has a chance to match the championship double Yamamoto accomplished last year. The New Zealander is second in GT500 on 63 points with Hirakawa, seven behind Oshima and Yamashita entering the finale, which is this weekend at Motegi. Neither Cassidy nor Yamamoto have won in Super GT this year but Cassidy has three podium finishes and five consecutive top five finishes while Yamamoto and Jenson Button have been on the podium twice but have failed to score points in four of seven races.
Palou was the breakout star of the 2019 season. The Catalan driver had some success in GP3/Formula Three but he has hit greater heights in Japan. Whether or not Palou uses Super Formula the way Ralf Schumacher, Pedro de la Rosa and Eddie Irvine to launch him into the conversation for Formula One rides or he becomes a European making a career in Japan similar to André Lotterer, Loïc Duval and Richard Lyons is still up in the air. Palou is 22 years old with plenty of years ahead of him but in this hyper-development era of Formula One it seems unlikely he will end up on the grid. If a Formula One team has not signed him to a development role or reserve role now he likely never will be signed.
There was not another driver that stood out on the grid. A lot of drivers had one or two strong results but they all kind of cancelled each other out. Nojiri won a race late and saved what was a trying year for Team Mugen with the second seat rotating three Red Bull development drivers, two of which are no longer with the program. Kobayashi still cannot breakthrough for victory. Fukuzumi was respectable in his first full season and he heads into the Super GT finale leading the GT300 class.
Acer was a pleasant surprise and Hirakawa got that elusive victory but had too many poor days. Tsuboi did well for his rookie season and Nakajima had the worst season of his Super Formula career, 12th in the championship after his previous worst finish was sixth.
It is not clear how the 2019-20 offseason game of musical chairs will shake out. Yamamoto got to run in Friday practice at the Japanese Grand Prix for Toro Rosso but nothing points to him having a fair shake at Formula One. Cassidy seems set in Japan. There is not another standout Formula One hopeful who is looking for a stopgap year in Japan. I think the 2020 grid could look very similar to the 2019 grid.
The 2019 season was no different with another Red Bull hopeful thirsted into the series with a few drivers with strong domestic ties in Japan emerging as potential international players. For another season the championship went to the wire and saw driver on top entering the final race exit without a trophy.
This review will go team-by-team based on the teams' championship and look back at what was written before the start of the season and what happened over the seven-race calendar.
DoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing (50 Points)
Naoki Yamamoto: #1 DoCoMo Dandelion M1S SF19-Honda (2nd, 33 Points)
What did I write before the season: As for this season, I think Yamamoto will put up a valiant title defense and he should win a race or two. If he does that he very well could win the championship but it will all come down to what happens in the remaining rounds.
What happened: Yamamoto entered the finale leading the championship and in a reverse of 2018, Yamamoto exited in second place in the championship, three points behind Nick Cassidy.
It wasn't for a lack of results. A successful title defense seemed almost certain after the first three races with two runner-up finishes and a victory at Sportsland SUGO. After scoring 27 points in the first three races he scored only six points over the next four races.
Nirei Fukuzumi: #5 DoCoMo Dandelion M5Y SF19-Honda (7th, 18 points)
What did I write before the season: Fukuzumi was competitive in testing and was not far off his teammate and in some cases he was quicker than Yamamoto. I think he will be a regular points scorer and end up on the podium a few times. Could he win a race? I wouldn't rule it out but it will not come easy.
What happened: Fukuzumi did not win a race but he finished third in the finale at Suzuka and he had three other finishes of fifth, leaving him seventh in the championship. He also had a promising day at Okayama end early due to a spin off course.
Vantelin Team TOM's (48 Points)
Kazuki Nakajima: #36 Vantelin Kowa TOM's SF19-Toyota (12th, 12 Points)
What did I write before the season: Nakajima is set. He is the staple of the Toyota LMP1 program. He has only won one race in the last three seasons. I think he will be a championship contender and I think it is because of his new teammate, Nick Cassidy.
What happened: Nakajima was not a championship contender and he was handily beat in the intra-team battle. While he did finish second in the penultimate race at Okayama, his only other finish in the points was fifth in a soaking wet Fuji race.
Nick Cassidy: #37 Vantelin Kowa TOM's SF19-Toyota (1st, 36 Points)
What did I write before the season: Cassidy is something special and I think Toyota has eyes on him. He was unfortunate roles were not reversed between him and Yamamoto. He led the Super Formula championship entering the final round and was one point behind Yamamoto and Button in GT500 entering the final race. He has to be on Toyota's radar for the LMP1 program. What else could he do? I don't see him being a full-time driver in the Lexus GTD program but if Lexus/Toyota decides to enter DPi, I wouldn't be surprised if he got a call.
What happened: Cassidy won the championship in comeback fashion. He entered the finale one point behind Yamamoto and tire strategy determined the championship. Cassidy started on the soft tires and kept going, opening a gap that could not be made up by Yamamoto and others that started on the medium compound and switched to the soft compound. It got Cassidy second while the best Yamamoto could do was fifth.
TCS Nakajima Racing (28 Points)
Álex Palou: #64 TCS Nakajima Racing SF19-Honda (3rd, 26 Points)
What did I write before the season: Palou has shown spurts of speed throughout his junior formula career. He took the old school path of leaving the European ladder system for a shot in Japan similar to Pedro de la Rosa, Ralf Schumacher and Michael Krumm. Nakajima Racing has not won a race since he 2010 season opener at Suzuka. Palou was quickest at the Suzuka test and was toward the top of the timesheet in the Fuji test. I think he will score points and maybe he could score a surprise podium finish or even victory.
What happened: Palou was fantastic and he picked up a smashing victory in the wet at Fuji. The Catalan driver picked up two other pole positions at Motegi and the Suzuka finale. It was a rookie season worth celebrating for Palou.
Tadasuke Makino: #65 TCS Nakajima Racing SF19-Honda (16th, 6 Points)
What did I write before the season: Makino was slower than his teammate in testing and I think Makino will score some points. As for the long-term, after years in Europe, he now has to establish who he is in Japan and has to build from here.
What happened: Makino was the surprise pole-sitter at the Suzuka season opener but his race ended after 26 laps and he finished sixth in the second race of the season at Autopolis but he could not match the pace of his teammate through the rest of the season and did not score another point in 2019.
Itochu Enex Team Impul (27 Points)
Yuhi Sekiguchi: #19 Itochu Enex Team Impul SF19-Toyota (8th, 16 Points)
What did I write before the season: Sekiguchi has been on the fringe of championship contention for the last few seasons but this year could be a step back and part of the reason comes in from within the team. He could finish in the top five of the championship.
What happened: Sekiguchi won at Autopolis from 16th starting position but he did take a step back after finishing third, fourth and fourth in his first three Super Formula seasons. His Autopolis victory was his only podium finish of 2019, the fewest podium finishes he has had in a season. His three points finishes were also a career low for Sekiguchi.
Ryō Hirakawa: #20 Itochu Enex Team Impul SF19-Toyota (10th, 12 Points)
What did I write before the season: Hirakawa seems to be a rising star. He finished one point behind Sekiguchi in the championship last year. I think he will get his first career victory this season and be the top Team Impul driver.
What happened: Hirakawa picked up his first career Super Formula victory in the antepenultimate race at Motegi after passing Palou on the racetrack and a successful pit stop got him out in the lead. However, Hirakawa struggled to score points with his only other finish in the points being eighth in the finale and he got a point for pole position at Okayama.
Kondō Racing (25 Points)
Kenta Yamashita: #3 Orientalbio Kondo SF19-Toyota (5th, 21 Points)
What did I write before the season: Yamashita has been fairly successful but he has yet to have a major breakthrough. He is still a relatively new driver in Super GT and Super Formula. He is definitely down the pecking order when it comes to Toyota drivers but he was one of the top Toyota drivers during testing. He is coming off his best finish and Kondō Racing won the teams' championship last year. I think Yamashita could be pushing for the top five of the championship.
What happened: Yamashita was fifth in the championship, which came after a well-run strategy at Okayama got him the victory and he finished in the points in the first three races, one of three drivers to do that alongside Cassidy and Yamamoto.
Yuji Kunimoto: #4 Orientalbio Kondo SF19-Toyota (17th, 5 Points)
What did I write before the season: Kunimoto was not far off his teammate in testing and I think this season can be marginally better than his last two in Super Formula.
What happened: This was a season back for Kunimoto after finishing eighth in the last two seasons. He had points finishes with sixth in the season opener at Suzuka, eighth at Sportsland SUGO and he picked up a point for pole position at Autopolis and then did not score any points in the final four races.
Daniel Ticktum: #15 Team Mugen SF19-Honda (20th, 1 Point)
What did I write before the season: Ticktum is on the Red Bull Formula One path, which could be great or it could ruin his career before he is 22 years old. He turns 20 in June for perspective. Red Bull wanted him in Toro Rosso this year but he didn't have enough Super License points and the team had to settle with Daniil Kvyat. Team Mugen won the title last year with Yamamoto but Yamamoto left the team over his dissatisfaction over the team's results. Yamamoto carried the load for this team and was the only driver to score points. I think Ticktum only gets a handful of points and again will fall short of the Super License points desired. He needs five points meaning he needs to finish fifth in the championship this year. Unless Team Mugen has a massive turnaround I do not see that happening.
What happened: The Dan Ticktum experiment with Red Bull ended after three races where Ticktum's only point came at the Suzuka season opener.
Patricio O'Ward: #15 Team Mugen SF19-Honda (18th, 3 Points)
How did he do as a substitute: Red Bull's flavor of the month for July 2019 had finishes of 14th, 14th and sixth before Red Bull lost interest for a driver with zero Super Llicense points that replaced a driver that had 35 Super License points and was just trying to get those final five Super License and be eligible for Formula One.
Jüri Vips: #15 Team Mugen SF19-Honda (23rd, 0 Points)
How did he do as a substitute: Vips stalled the car and he could only manage 18th on his Super Formula debut.
Tomoki Nojiri: #16 Team Mugen SF19-Honda (4th, 24 Points)
What did I write before the season: Nojiri was apart of the Team Dandelion Racing-Team Mugen team swap. I think he will finish ahead of Ticktum in the championship. I think he has settled into a good spot in Honda's Japanese programs.
What happened: Nojiji had encouraging results, most notably with a pair of fourth place finishes at the Suzuka season opener and the monsoon at Fuji and the season concluded with a victory in the Suzuka finale after starting on the soft tires and running away with a gap large enough to switch to the harder compound and come out on top.
JMS P.mu/cerumo INGING (22 Points)
Hiroaki Ishiura: #38 JMS P.mu/cerumo INGING SF19-Toyota (13th, 10 Points)
What did I write before the season: Ishiura has a career in Japan and I think he will be competitive but take a step back from third in the championship. He has won at least one race each of the last four seasons. That could end this year. I think the grid is really good.
What happened: Ishiura's winning streak ended at four consecutive seasons and after finishing in the top five of the championship in the last five seasons and in the top ten for the last eight seasons he participated in, Ishiura got his worst championship finish since his rookie season when he was 16th in 2008. He did end strong with four finishes in the points in the final five races but his best result was sixth at Motegi and the Suzuka finale.
Sho Tsuboi: #39 JMS P.mu/cerumo INGING SF19-Toyota (11th, 12 Points)
What did I write before the season: This is part of the reason why Ishiura will take a step back. Tsuboi was slightly faster than Ishiura in testing and he is coming in as a promising young driver. He has dominated the junior series in Japan. Despite his success, he is 23 years old. This isn't a teenager but he is still young and this is his first big step. He needs to get results and I think he will do well. I think he could finish on the podium.
What happened: Tsuboi was runner-up in the wet Fuji race but his only other finish in the points was fifth in the Suzuka season opener.
B-MAX with Motopark (20 Points)
Lucas Auer: #50 Red Bull SF19-Honda (9th, 14 Points)
What did I write before the season: I am not sure. Auer is returning to single-seaters and it is a new set of tracks for him. I do not have high hopes for him. Maybe he scores a few points, which would be a big step up since B-MAX has not scored a point the last two seasons.
What happened: Auer scored points in four of seven races and his best finish was third at Sportsland SUGO. He did cough up a great opportunity in the season finale when he stalled on the grid at the start from third starting position.
Harrison Newey: #51 Goldex Tairoku Racing SF19-Honda (15th, 6 Points)
What did I write before the season: Testing was promising. Newey was consistently 13th or 14th in testing. Maybe he gets a finish or two in the points but the bar is kept low.
What happened: After not finishing in the top fifteen in the first five races, Newey ended up on the podium thanks to tire strategy, safety car periods, cars spinning and the race ending early due to the time limit. He followed it up with a 20th place result in the finale.
carrozzeria Team KCMG (19 Points)
Kamui Kobayashi: #18 KCMG Elyse SF19-Toyota (6th, 19 Points)
What did I write before the season: Kobayashi is set. He is a Toyota LMP1 driver. He is set. It is surprising he has yet to win a race in this series after four seasons. If it is going to happen it should happen in year five.
What happened: Kobayashi had runner-up finishes at Sportsland SUGO and Motegi with a sixth at Fuji sandwiched in-between. Unfortunately, he lost a likely top five result at Okayama when he spun battling with Cassidy for a spot on the podium. Kobayashi has made 36 Super Formula starts and has yet to score a victory but has five runner-up finishes and seven podium finishes and he matched his career best championship finish.
UOMO SUNOCO Team LeMans (7 Points)
Artem Markelov: #7 UOMO SUNOCO SF19-Toyota (21st, 0 Points)
What did I write before the season: Markelov was at the bottom of the timesheet for most of testing and I think he will struggle. I am not sure where Markelov's career goes from here. The Formula One route didn't work out. Could he end up like most Russian drivers and in the SMP Racing program? Yeah, probably.
What happened: Markelov did not score a point before returning to Formula Two to run for Arden after the death of Anthoine Hubert.
Yuichi Nakayama: #7 UOMO SUNOCO SF19-Toyota (22nd 0 Points)
How did he do as a substitute: Worse than Markelov. Nakayama's finishes were 15th and 16th while Markelov's average finish was 15.2. This was Nakayama's first time in Super Formula since 2014. In those nine starts in 2014, Nakayama's best finish was tenth at Fuji.
Kazuya Oshima: #8 UOMO SUNOCO SF19-Toyota (14th, 7 Points)
What did I write before the season: Oshima is kind of set with a career in Japan. Nothing wrong with that and for this year I think he will be ahead of Markelov most of the year but points scoring will be rare.
What happened: Oshima picked up third in that odd Autopolis round and his only other finish in the points was eighth in the odd Okayama race.
Real Racing (2 Points)
Tristan Charpentier: #17 Real SF19-Honda (Not Classified, 0 Points)
What did I write before the season: I am not sure. Charpenter is the most inexperience driver on the grid and he was at the bottom of each test session. It would be a surprise if he scored points this season. Worst case scenario is he will be an LMP3 driver or LMP2 driver in the European Le Mans Series in the next few years.
What happened: Charpentier's Super Formula carer lasted all of seven laps when he went off course.
Koudai Tsukakoshi: #17 Real SF19-Honda (19th, 2 Points)
How did he do as a substitute: The Real Racing car was never going to be a world-beater and the veteran Tsukakoshi did the best he could but the season ended on a positive note when he finished seventh in the Suzuka finale, preventing the team from being shutout in the 2019 season.
Conclusion
It should not be a surprise the championship again came down to Nick Cassidy and Naoki Yamamoto. These two drivers have been two of the best competitors in Japan and while neither has been as prolific as they were in 2018 in Super Formula and Super GT, both have been outstanding and are always a threat for victory.
Yamamoto will be unsuccessful in defending both Super Formula and Super GT's GT500 championships but Cassidy has a chance to match the championship double Yamamoto accomplished last year. The New Zealander is second in GT500 on 63 points with Hirakawa, seven behind Oshima and Yamashita entering the finale, which is this weekend at Motegi. Neither Cassidy nor Yamamoto have won in Super GT this year but Cassidy has three podium finishes and five consecutive top five finishes while Yamamoto and Jenson Button have been on the podium twice but have failed to score points in four of seven races.
Palou was the breakout star of the 2019 season. The Catalan driver had some success in GP3/Formula Three but he has hit greater heights in Japan. Whether or not Palou uses Super Formula the way Ralf Schumacher, Pedro de la Rosa and Eddie Irvine to launch him into the conversation for Formula One rides or he becomes a European making a career in Japan similar to André Lotterer, Loïc Duval and Richard Lyons is still up in the air. Palou is 22 years old with plenty of years ahead of him but in this hyper-development era of Formula One it seems unlikely he will end up on the grid. If a Formula One team has not signed him to a development role or reserve role now he likely never will be signed.
There was not another driver that stood out on the grid. A lot of drivers had one or two strong results but they all kind of cancelled each other out. Nojiri won a race late and saved what was a trying year for Team Mugen with the second seat rotating three Red Bull development drivers, two of which are no longer with the program. Kobayashi still cannot breakthrough for victory. Fukuzumi was respectable in his first full season and he heads into the Super GT finale leading the GT300 class.
Acer was a pleasant surprise and Hirakawa got that elusive victory but had too many poor days. Tsuboi did well for his rookie season and Nakajima had the worst season of his Super Formula career, 12th in the championship after his previous worst finish was sixth.
It is not clear how the 2019-20 offseason game of musical chairs will shake out. Yamamoto got to run in Friday practice at the Japanese Grand Prix for Toro Rosso but nothing points to him having a fair shake at Formula One. Cassidy seems set in Japan. There is not another standout Formula One hopeful who is looking for a stopgap year in Japan. I think the 2020 grid could look very similar to the 2019 grid.
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