1. Lando Norris came. Lando Norris saw. Lando Norris conquered. This was close but Norris, the invitee, had this one in the bag. If it wasn't for a spin exiting the final corner while running in fifth during the pit cycle, Norris would have won this race by at least ten or 15 seconds.
Norris had the field covered from the first practice race on Thursday. No one touched him that day. Today started with another pole position and blistering race pace. Norris was regularly lapping in the 1:04-range. No one else was doing that. Patricio O'Ward got down to 1:04 late but at that point the race was over.
The McLaren F1 driver is another animal when it comes to iRacing. Add to it the natural ability behind an actual race car. The combination led to stepping into the IndyCar pool and bullying the regulars. Norris almost beat himself but that was the only thing that was going to stop him today.
How should IndyCar feel about another outside winning its iRacing event? It is not real. It doesn't matter. It is only for fun.
2. Patricio O'Ward was strong and was going to be in the top five but had a bit of help to get into a runner-up position. O'Ward was strong and didn't put a wheel wrong. He found some pace late but Norris was out of reach. This was a good day and O'Ward really hasn't had a great iRacing event yet.
3. Take Norris out of the field and Felix Rosenqvist wins this race. Rosenqvist was on the one-stop and leading the way. If there is no Norris, Rosenqvist wins this by about five or six seconds. Instead, Norris is in the field, running about 7/10ths faster than Rosenqvist every lap and under the pressure Rosenqvist clips a curb and spins. He loses the lead; he loses the gap to O'Ward and he settles for third.
The way this race was laid out, 32 laps with a competition caution on lap 12, was going to mix up the strategies. Teams were only getting 15-16 laps on fuel. Stopping under caution was not going to get you to the end unless you were really conservation. Rosenqvist stayed out before the caution, did not come in under the caution and ran to lap 18. This nearly worked.
Even if Rosenqvist doesn't spin, Norris was likely going to pass him with two or three to go but Rosenqvist still would have had second.
4. Another strong day from Scott McLaughlin in fourth. I can't say much more than that but McLaughlin has been great in every race.
5. Santino Ferrucci rounded out the top five, running the same strategy as Rosenqvist. Ferrucci was good. That's about it.
6. The only way Norris spins and doesn't win is if Will Power doesn't spin on his own while leading before Power makes his one and only stop at the end of lap 18. Power was in the catbird seat after Norris spun and within a lap Power coughed it up.
Similar to Rosenqvist, he just lost it and there went the victory. Power was closer to Norris and the gap was there after Norris spun. If Power keeps it straight, he pits and gets out ahead of Rosenqvist and might have an extra second or two on Norris. In that case, Norris might fall a lap short in his charge.
Another trip to Austin and another one that got away from Power, settling for sixth.
7. Rinus VeeKay was seventh, which is actually great, considering last week was his first event. I am happy for him.
8. Rounding out the top ten was Marcus Ericsson, Álex Palou, who went the furthest of the two-stoppers, getting a splash-and-go with four to go and Josef Newgarden was tenth, after being one of the first to commit to the two-stop strategy.
9. I will be honest, there is no one that stands out that was outside the top ten.
Simon Pagenaud was 14th after winning the last two races. That was a little worse than expected.
Sage Karam had some problem and it shuffled him from sixth on the grid to dead last. I don't think Karam was going to match Norris' pace but I think he could have had a shot for a podium position.
And then there are a few drivers who are being way too hormonal. Guys, calm down and just have fun with it.
10. Honda teams are 0-for-5 going into the final race. Does that matter?
Rosenqvist has been the closest Honda driver to victory on a regular basis. Scott Dixon, who was 11th today, had a shot at Motegi, but week-to-week Rosenqvist has been carrying the Honda flag and no one else has been close.
Outside of Scott Speed at Barber, has there been a time where an Andretti Autosport driver has been in the top five?
I know this is a video game and just because Andretti Autosport drivers are struggling now doesn't mean the team will be outside the top fifteen at every race. Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta will be fine. Everyone is at a different level when it comes to iRacing. For some guys, it is a daily exercise. For Rossi, it is brand spanking new and he is years behind and that is fine.
The fact that is seems 85% of the Honda drivers are behind is a little bit of a surprise. There have been some rough races and Honda probably should have had a win by now. Rosenqvist was looking good at Barber and had a good shot at winning today but Rosenqvist has been it.
I don't think it matters but if we have learned anything from the last five weeks, this ends up mattering in one way or another.
11. Indianapolis is going to be next week... so how about that dream?
I am not going to say too much because a lot of people lack imagination and are going to love it and it is probably going to be a fun race but if IndyCar is going to promote theme weekends at the start of this series and then not see those out IndyCar should just come up with the schedule at the start and release it like IMSA did.
Don't tease something for four weeks and then completely renege.
12. If there is one fun thing IndyCar is doing with this it will determine the final spots in the field via a qualifying on Wednesday. All full-time teams, the iRacing winners (Sage Karam, Scott McLaughlin and Lando Norris) and Indianapolis 500 winners are locked in so I don't know how many spots will be available but just counting Hélio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti could be up to do this and that rough counting suggests there could be very few spots available. This could be the first misstep IndyCar has made in this entire process, but hey, five weeks is a great run.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Possible 2020 IndyCar Milestones
We are not going to be racing for at least another month and a half, but we should use this time to keep an eye on the possibilities once motorsports return.
There are plenty of little things that happen in a motorsports season that we do not prepare for. Great accomplishments do not necessarily get the attention they deserve. Things happen fast and when one race finishes, we are looking to the next one. Understandably, we wrap ourselves up in the moment and watch closely to the championship races, but we fail appreciating the little things happening simultaneously.
After scouring over the record book, I have found ten milestones we could see in the 2020 IndyCar season. A few of these are big deals and would not be ignored. A few of these are more inside baseball but are significant.
18th Season with a Victory
Driver: Scott Dixon
Current Situation: On 17 seasons, would tie A.J. Foyt's record
We are going to start with the top driver in IndyCar today, Scott Dixon and one victory puts Dixon in extraordinary company again. Dixon has won a race in 17 seasons and he already holds the record with 15 consecutive seasons with a victory. One victory in 2020 will not only extend his consecutive season record but tie him with A.J. Foyt for the most seasons with one victory.
Dixon turns 40 years old later this year but there are plenty of years left in his career. Two more seasons with a victory will give the New Zealander another record and it feels rather inevitable. It would be an incredible record showing maintained success over a lengthy period of time. This is supposed to be Dixon's 20 season and in the 19 prior he has won in all but two of them (2002 and 2004 in case you are wondering). It is staggering and Dixon is already on 46 victories and there is a chance he could hit the 50-mark in 2020. If he doesn't do it in 2020, then 2021. Once he gets there, he will be in pouncing distance of Mario Andretti for second all-time.
Foyt's all-time record of 67 victories seems safe but many of them are under threat of Dixon or are already his.
Most Different Tracks Won at in a Career
Driver: Scott Dixon
Current Situation: On 23 tracks, needs 27 for all-time record
We are going to stay in the Dixon camp because he is Scott Dixon.
This a stretch because it requires at least four victories at four tracks Dixon has not won at yet in his IndyCar career. One issue is there are not a lot of tracks left where Dixon has yet to score a victory. The good news is there are enough tracks remaining where this record is achievable, even after all the revisions.
Dixon has yet to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Iowa, Gateway, Portland and Laguna Seca and if St. Petersburg is rescheduled that is another possibility for Dixon.
Mario Andretti currently holds the record at 26 tracks and Dario Franchitti is second at 24 tracks.
This record shows versatility. It also shows schedule volatility but that is not Dixon's fault. Andretti's career had plenty of one-off venues. Remember, he ran during an era where IndyCar had short stays at Mont-Tremblant, Indianapolis Raceway Park's road course, Pacific Raceways, Hanford, Brainerd and Continental Divide Raceway. Add to it dirt tracks were a main part of the championship during Andretti's career and that is another lot of tracks Andretti got to race at. Substitute dirt tracks for street courses and the eras aren't so different after all.
6,000 Laps Led
Driver: Scott Dixon
Current Situation: Needs 398 laps led, would become fifth to reach milestone
One more for Dixon and 6,000 laps led puts him in rarefied air.
Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Hélio Castroneves.
That is it. That is the list of drivers with 6,000 laps led in a career.
Dixon is currently sixth all-time, 200 laps behind Al Unser for fifth but he could conceivably surpass Castroneves, as the Brazilian sits on 6,037 laps led.
This will require a season we have not seen from Dixon in quite some time. He has not led at 398 laps in a season since he led 458 laps in 2012. Dixon has only led 400 or more laps in a season four times in his career. It is not impossible but it could be slightly out of reach for 2020.
Most Consecutive Finishes
Driver: Alexander Rossi
Current Situation: On 42 consecutive finishes, needs 51 for all-time record
Rossi has come into IndyCar and been a model of consistency. He has won a race in every season. He has averaged a starting position and finishing position under ten in each of the last three seasons. He has completed at least 1,900 laps in all four seasons. Since joining IndyCar in 2016, Rossi has completed the fifth most laps, only Simon Pagenaud, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon and Marco Andretti have completed more.
For the last two seasons, Rossi has taken the checkered flag at every race, even last year's Pocono debacle. If that race had gone the distance and not been shortened because of rain, perhaps this streak would have ended before even reaching 40 but here we are with the record being feasible.
He has completed every race since Road America 2017. His last retirement was Texas that year.
What is in Rossi's way of achieving this record? The 2020 season is scheduled to begin at Texas then Road America before the unknown in Richmond. The Grand Prix of Indianapolis round four before Toronto and a doubleheader at Iowa. He can tie the record at Mid-Ohio. He would break the record at the Indianapolis 500.
Who holds this record? Danica Patrick. She took the checkered flag at 50 consecutive races from Long Beach 2009 to Kentucky 2011.
First 1-2-3-4-5 Finish for a team in IndyCar History
Team: Andretti Autosport
Current Situation: Only one 1-2-3-4 finish for a team in IndyCar history, Andretti Green Racing at St. Petersburg in 2005
With the expansion of Andretti Autosport to a five-car operation thanks to the absorption of Harding Steinbrenner Racing the team will have a chance to make IndyCar history 15 years after making IndyCar history.
Fifteen years ago, Dan Wheldon led an Andretti Green Racing 1-2-3-4 finish ahead of Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta. It is has not been matched since. In 2020, Andretti Autosport can better that by one finisher.
It will be difficult. It needs Alexander Rossi, Colton Herta, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Zach Veach to all finish in the top five. The team does have James Hinchcliffe scheduled for three races so there will be a couple instances when Andretti Autosport will have one mulligan at achieving the top five sweep.
Rossi, Herta and Hunter-Reay will be in top five position. Andretti has three top five finishes over the last three seasons. Veach has two career top five finishes and his best finish last year was seventh. Hinchcliffe had one top five finish last year, a third at Iowa. A lot of things will have to go in Andretti Autosport's favor to sweep the top five but it remains possible.
40 Career Victories
Driver: Will Power
Current Situation: On 37 victories, would become fifth driver to reach milestone
While Dixon is approaching the half-century mark in victories and could end up second all-time, he is not the only one coming up on a victory-related milestone. Power could join Foyt, Andretti, Dixon and Michael Andretti as the only drivers with at least 40 career victories.
We really do not talk about victory milestones in motorsports in general but in IndyCar specifically as well. It does not sound like a big number but only four drivers have reached 40 victories. That is an exclusive club. Eras are different and there were drivers who did not race in seasons where there were more than ten races. Based on the IndyCar record book, Wilbur Shaw only has six career victories, three of which are the Indianapolis 500. Parnelli Jones only has six career victories but his career was only eight seasons and he was part-time in four of those years. The victories page of the record book does not necessarily paint the clearest picture of the all-time greats.
With all that said, all the drivers at the top in victories are no slouches and 40 victories is a big deal. It should be noted tied with Power on 37 victories is Sébastien Bourdais. Unfortunately for Bourdais, he was scheduled for four races this year, two have been cancelled (Barber and Long Beach) and we do not know if St. Petersburg will be rescheduled. There is a chance Bourdais could also reach the 40-victory mark but he will need at least one more start and then have to be perfect.
Most Consecutive Indianapolis 500s Led
Driver: Will Power
Current Situation: On seven, needs eight for all-time record
The Indianapolis 500 has been run 103 times and anytime you can set an event record it is a notable achievement.
Power has become one of the best oval drivers in IndyCar and he has also become one of the best drivers in 500-mile races. Power has won a 500-mile race in four consecutive seasons. Last year's Pocono race was rain-shortened but it was scheduled for 500 miles and no one is discrediting Johnny Rutherford's 1976 Indianapolis 500 victory or Dario Franchitti's 2007 Indianapolis 500 victory for being rain-shortened. Still, five victories, tied with Johnny Rutherford and only A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears, Al Unser and Bobby Unser have more.
When it comes to the Indianapolis 500, Power is one lap led away from history. Rick Mears became the first driver to lead six consecutive Indianapolis 500s in 1984, breaking a tie with Rex Mays, Mauri Rose and Bobby Unser on five consecutive Indianapolis 500s led. Mears' record stood until Tony Kanaan led lap 94 in 2008, giving Kanaan seven consecutive Indianapolis 500s led.
Since Kanaan broke the record, he matched it, leading at least one lap from 2012 to 2018. In 2013, Power began his streak and has led 137 laps over the seven years. Eight consecutive Indianapolis 500s led would only add to the lore of William Steven Power, a man approaching 40 career victories, already has an Indianapolis 500 triumph and one of the greatest qualifiers in IndyCar history.
Three Consecutive Seasons with Most Laps Led
Driver: Josef Newgarden
Current Situation: Newgarden has led the most laps the last two seasons, would become the sixth driver to lead the most laps in three consecutive seasons since 1947
Over the latter half of last decade, we saw the rise of Josef Newgarden as one of IndyCar's best drivers and the one thing that has stood out to me is Newgarden's ability to lead laps.
After leading only 21 laps in his first three seasons, he has led at least 313 laps in each of his last five seasons. Since 2015, Newgarden has led 2,023 laps. The next closest driver is Will Power at 1,477 laps led. Newgarden has led IndyCar in laps led in three of those five seasons, including the last two seasons. In the other two seasons, he was second in laps led and third in laps led.
It is easy to finish as the top lap leader when you lead 282, 245 and 229 laps in three of your last four Iowa starts. Heck, Newgarden's 245 laps led last year at Iowa would have been good enough for second alone last year, only 23 laps behind what Simon Pagenaud led the entire season.
However, leading the most laps for three consecutive seasons is not something that happens often and it is an esteemed list of drivers to accomplish it.
Newgarden would become the first driver to lead IndyCar in laps led for three consecutive seasons since Alex Zanardi from 1996-98. The first four occurrences were Rodger Ward from 1957-60, A.J. Foyt 1963-65, Bobby Unser 1971-74 and Michael Andretti 1990-92. That is a list you want to be on and Newgarden is primed to join it.
Youngest Indianapolis 500 Winner
Drivers: Colton Herta, Patricio O'Ward, Rinus VeeKay
Current Situation: Troy Ruttman holds the record at 22 years and 80 days old
This would be a big deal but I think we need to mention it because for the next three or so year's Troy Ruttman's record runs the risk of being usurped and in some cases obliterated.
We have had a keen eye on the youngest Indianapolis 500 winner record ever since Marco Andretti appeared on the scene and was about 150 yards from making history as a rookie. Since Andretti, we have seen Graham Rahal, Sebastián Saavedra, Mario Moraes, Carlos Muñoz, Sage Karam, Matheus Leist and Zachary Claman De Melo among others have a shot at this record and not seen glory. This year at least three names will have a shot.
Colton Herta is the obvious one and his first attempt at the record ended after 7.5 miles with a broken gearbox. Patricio O'Ward's first crack at it ended bumped from the grid with Carlin. Rinus VeeKay is the newcomer, wet behind the ears.
On August 23, 2020, Herta will be 20 years and 147 days old. O'Ward will be 21 years and 110 days old. VeeKay will be 20 years and 348 days old. All three drivers will have at least one more bite at the apple in 2021 but 2021 will be the final shot for shots for O'Ward and VeeKay. Herta will have a finale shot in 2022.
There is one name that you might be thinking would have a shot at this record and that is Santino Ferrucci. If the Indianapolis 500 was run on its scheduled date of May 24, Ferrucci would be 21 years and 360 days old. However, since the race was kicked back to August 23, Ferrucci will be 22 years and 85 days old, five days older than the record. Second youngest wouldn't be that bad but it does not have the same ring.
Four Decades with a Victory
Drivers: Tony Kanaan
Current Situation: Kanaan has won a race in three decades. Only driver to win in four decades is Mario Andretti
This one is a stretch because Kanaan will not be full-time, he will be driving for A.J. Foyt Racing and his last two seasons have seen significant steps back but this is a historical one to be put into perspective.
Only Mario Andretti has won an IndyCar race in four different decades. That's it. That is the list. Fourteen other drivers have won a race in three decades but only Andretti has won in four. A.J. Foyt raced until 1992 but his last victory was in 1981. Gordon Johncock also raced until 1992, his last victory was in 1983. Al Unser's career made it to 1993 but his final victory was his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in 1987. Many have tried, only one has succeeded.
This brings us to our latest challenger, Tony Kanaan.
This achievement involves a bit of fortune. Kanaan's career gets started in the late 1990s. He won his first race in 1999 at Michigan after Max Papis ran out of fuel and with a charging Juan Pablo Montoya closing on Kanaan. Kanaan held off Montoya by 0.032 seconds. If Papis had another half-gallon of fuel or if Montoya was 0.033 seconds quicker or if the start/finish line was 20-feet further down the track, Kanaan only has a victory in two decades.
Take Hélio Castroneves as an example. Castroneves won a race in only two decades but he raced in the 1990s and came close to a few victories, however, he does not get his maiden triumph until 2000.
Take Colton Herta as another example. Herta won a race last year. If he wins a race this year he will have won a race in two different decades and it only took him two years for such an achievement. Castroneves had to wait an entire decade to complete the same achievement.
Some of this is fortune but another part of it is longevity and talent.
We all know Mario Andretti is one of the greatest drivers of all-time with a career spanning the entire life of a baby boomer. While Kanaan's career started at the right time for him to be positioned for such an achievement, he has been a constant driver from more than 20 years. He was one of the top drivers in the early 2000s and it took him a while but he finally got his Indianapolis 500 glory in the early 2010s.
This is the twilight of Kanaan's career. Even he has admitted his time is almost up and he is winding down what has been a beautiful career. He might not have been shots at this but if anyone could pull off an Indianapolis stunner in his mid-40s it is Kanaan.
There is one other driver you should keep an eye on for this record and he was mentioned above... Juan Pablo Montoya. Like Kanaan, his career started at the right time, he dominated 1999 and then won a few times in 2000 and just like that in two years he had won in two different decades. Flash-forward to 2014, over a decade since he was last in an IndyCar and Montoya returns and picks up a victory at Pocono with a few more victories, including another at Indianapolis, and he has won in three different decades.
Montoya has been sidelined from IndyCar the past two seasons but the itch is still there. If the man can return after 14 years away and score a handful of victories, who is to say he could not return in 2021 or 2022 and pull into victory lane a few more times at the age of 46 or 47. It is Montoya. He is bound to re-write the record book.
There are plenty of little things that happen in a motorsports season that we do not prepare for. Great accomplishments do not necessarily get the attention they deserve. Things happen fast and when one race finishes, we are looking to the next one. Understandably, we wrap ourselves up in the moment and watch closely to the championship races, but we fail appreciating the little things happening simultaneously.
After scouring over the record book, I have found ten milestones we could see in the 2020 IndyCar season. A few of these are big deals and would not be ignored. A few of these are more inside baseball but are significant.
18th Season with a Victory
Driver: Scott Dixon
Current Situation: On 17 seasons, would tie A.J. Foyt's record
We are going to start with the top driver in IndyCar today, Scott Dixon and one victory puts Dixon in extraordinary company again. Dixon has won a race in 17 seasons and he already holds the record with 15 consecutive seasons with a victory. One victory in 2020 will not only extend his consecutive season record but tie him with A.J. Foyt for the most seasons with one victory.
Dixon turns 40 years old later this year but there are plenty of years left in his career. Two more seasons with a victory will give the New Zealander another record and it feels rather inevitable. It would be an incredible record showing maintained success over a lengthy period of time. This is supposed to be Dixon's 20 season and in the 19 prior he has won in all but two of them (2002 and 2004 in case you are wondering). It is staggering and Dixon is already on 46 victories and there is a chance he could hit the 50-mark in 2020. If he doesn't do it in 2020, then 2021. Once he gets there, he will be in pouncing distance of Mario Andretti for second all-time.
Foyt's all-time record of 67 victories seems safe but many of them are under threat of Dixon or are already his.
Most Different Tracks Won at in a Career
Driver: Scott Dixon
Current Situation: On 23 tracks, needs 27 for all-time record
We are going to stay in the Dixon camp because he is Scott Dixon.
This a stretch because it requires at least four victories at four tracks Dixon has not won at yet in his IndyCar career. One issue is there are not a lot of tracks left where Dixon has yet to score a victory. The good news is there are enough tracks remaining where this record is achievable, even after all the revisions.
Dixon has yet to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Iowa, Gateway, Portland and Laguna Seca and if St. Petersburg is rescheduled that is another possibility for Dixon.
Mario Andretti currently holds the record at 26 tracks and Dario Franchitti is second at 24 tracks.
This record shows versatility. It also shows schedule volatility but that is not Dixon's fault. Andretti's career had plenty of one-off venues. Remember, he ran during an era where IndyCar had short stays at Mont-Tremblant, Indianapolis Raceway Park's road course, Pacific Raceways, Hanford, Brainerd and Continental Divide Raceway. Add to it dirt tracks were a main part of the championship during Andretti's career and that is another lot of tracks Andretti got to race at. Substitute dirt tracks for street courses and the eras aren't so different after all.
6,000 Laps Led
Driver: Scott Dixon
Current Situation: Needs 398 laps led, would become fifth to reach milestone
One more for Dixon and 6,000 laps led puts him in rarefied air.
Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Hélio Castroneves.
That is it. That is the list of drivers with 6,000 laps led in a career.
Dixon is currently sixth all-time, 200 laps behind Al Unser for fifth but he could conceivably surpass Castroneves, as the Brazilian sits on 6,037 laps led.
This will require a season we have not seen from Dixon in quite some time. He has not led at 398 laps in a season since he led 458 laps in 2012. Dixon has only led 400 or more laps in a season four times in his career. It is not impossible but it could be slightly out of reach for 2020.
Most Consecutive Finishes
Driver: Alexander Rossi
Current Situation: On 42 consecutive finishes, needs 51 for all-time record
Rossi has come into IndyCar and been a model of consistency. He has won a race in every season. He has averaged a starting position and finishing position under ten in each of the last three seasons. He has completed at least 1,900 laps in all four seasons. Since joining IndyCar in 2016, Rossi has completed the fifth most laps, only Simon Pagenaud, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon and Marco Andretti have completed more.
For the last two seasons, Rossi has taken the checkered flag at every race, even last year's Pocono debacle. If that race had gone the distance and not been shortened because of rain, perhaps this streak would have ended before even reaching 40 but here we are with the record being feasible.
He has completed every race since Road America 2017. His last retirement was Texas that year.
What is in Rossi's way of achieving this record? The 2020 season is scheduled to begin at Texas then Road America before the unknown in Richmond. The Grand Prix of Indianapolis round four before Toronto and a doubleheader at Iowa. He can tie the record at Mid-Ohio. He would break the record at the Indianapolis 500.
Who holds this record? Danica Patrick. She took the checkered flag at 50 consecutive races from Long Beach 2009 to Kentucky 2011.
First 1-2-3-4-5 Finish for a team in IndyCar History
Team: Andretti Autosport
Current Situation: Only one 1-2-3-4 finish for a team in IndyCar history, Andretti Green Racing at St. Petersburg in 2005
With the expansion of Andretti Autosport to a five-car operation thanks to the absorption of Harding Steinbrenner Racing the team will have a chance to make IndyCar history 15 years after making IndyCar history.
Fifteen years ago, Dan Wheldon led an Andretti Green Racing 1-2-3-4 finish ahead of Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta. It is has not been matched since. In 2020, Andretti Autosport can better that by one finisher.
It will be difficult. It needs Alexander Rossi, Colton Herta, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Zach Veach to all finish in the top five. The team does have James Hinchcliffe scheduled for three races so there will be a couple instances when Andretti Autosport will have one mulligan at achieving the top five sweep.
Rossi, Herta and Hunter-Reay will be in top five position. Andretti has three top five finishes over the last three seasons. Veach has two career top five finishes and his best finish last year was seventh. Hinchcliffe had one top five finish last year, a third at Iowa. A lot of things will have to go in Andretti Autosport's favor to sweep the top five but it remains possible.
40 Career Victories
Driver: Will Power
Current Situation: On 37 victories, would become fifth driver to reach milestone
While Dixon is approaching the half-century mark in victories and could end up second all-time, he is not the only one coming up on a victory-related milestone. Power could join Foyt, Andretti, Dixon and Michael Andretti as the only drivers with at least 40 career victories.
We really do not talk about victory milestones in motorsports in general but in IndyCar specifically as well. It does not sound like a big number but only four drivers have reached 40 victories. That is an exclusive club. Eras are different and there were drivers who did not race in seasons where there were more than ten races. Based on the IndyCar record book, Wilbur Shaw only has six career victories, three of which are the Indianapolis 500. Parnelli Jones only has six career victories but his career was only eight seasons and he was part-time in four of those years. The victories page of the record book does not necessarily paint the clearest picture of the all-time greats.
With all that said, all the drivers at the top in victories are no slouches and 40 victories is a big deal. It should be noted tied with Power on 37 victories is Sébastien Bourdais. Unfortunately for Bourdais, he was scheduled for four races this year, two have been cancelled (Barber and Long Beach) and we do not know if St. Petersburg will be rescheduled. There is a chance Bourdais could also reach the 40-victory mark but he will need at least one more start and then have to be perfect.
Most Consecutive Indianapolis 500s Led
Driver: Will Power
Current Situation: On seven, needs eight for all-time record
The Indianapolis 500 has been run 103 times and anytime you can set an event record it is a notable achievement.
Power has become one of the best oval drivers in IndyCar and he has also become one of the best drivers in 500-mile races. Power has won a 500-mile race in four consecutive seasons. Last year's Pocono race was rain-shortened but it was scheduled for 500 miles and no one is discrediting Johnny Rutherford's 1976 Indianapolis 500 victory or Dario Franchitti's 2007 Indianapolis 500 victory for being rain-shortened. Still, five victories, tied with Johnny Rutherford and only A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears, Al Unser and Bobby Unser have more.
When it comes to the Indianapolis 500, Power is one lap led away from history. Rick Mears became the first driver to lead six consecutive Indianapolis 500s in 1984, breaking a tie with Rex Mays, Mauri Rose and Bobby Unser on five consecutive Indianapolis 500s led. Mears' record stood until Tony Kanaan led lap 94 in 2008, giving Kanaan seven consecutive Indianapolis 500s led.
Since Kanaan broke the record, he matched it, leading at least one lap from 2012 to 2018. In 2013, Power began his streak and has led 137 laps over the seven years. Eight consecutive Indianapolis 500s led would only add to the lore of William Steven Power, a man approaching 40 career victories, already has an Indianapolis 500 triumph and one of the greatest qualifiers in IndyCar history.
Three Consecutive Seasons with Most Laps Led
Driver: Josef Newgarden
Current Situation: Newgarden has led the most laps the last two seasons, would become the sixth driver to lead the most laps in three consecutive seasons since 1947
Over the latter half of last decade, we saw the rise of Josef Newgarden as one of IndyCar's best drivers and the one thing that has stood out to me is Newgarden's ability to lead laps.
After leading only 21 laps in his first three seasons, he has led at least 313 laps in each of his last five seasons. Since 2015, Newgarden has led 2,023 laps. The next closest driver is Will Power at 1,477 laps led. Newgarden has led IndyCar in laps led in three of those five seasons, including the last two seasons. In the other two seasons, he was second in laps led and third in laps led.
It is easy to finish as the top lap leader when you lead 282, 245 and 229 laps in three of your last four Iowa starts. Heck, Newgarden's 245 laps led last year at Iowa would have been good enough for second alone last year, only 23 laps behind what Simon Pagenaud led the entire season.
However, leading the most laps for three consecutive seasons is not something that happens often and it is an esteemed list of drivers to accomplish it.
Newgarden would become the first driver to lead IndyCar in laps led for three consecutive seasons since Alex Zanardi from 1996-98. The first four occurrences were Rodger Ward from 1957-60, A.J. Foyt 1963-65, Bobby Unser 1971-74 and Michael Andretti 1990-92. That is a list you want to be on and Newgarden is primed to join it.
Youngest Indianapolis 500 Winner
Drivers: Colton Herta, Patricio O'Ward, Rinus VeeKay
Current Situation: Troy Ruttman holds the record at 22 years and 80 days old
This would be a big deal but I think we need to mention it because for the next three or so year's Troy Ruttman's record runs the risk of being usurped and in some cases obliterated.
We have had a keen eye on the youngest Indianapolis 500 winner record ever since Marco Andretti appeared on the scene and was about 150 yards from making history as a rookie. Since Andretti, we have seen Graham Rahal, Sebastián Saavedra, Mario Moraes, Carlos Muñoz, Sage Karam, Matheus Leist and Zachary Claman De Melo among others have a shot at this record and not seen glory. This year at least three names will have a shot.
Colton Herta is the obvious one and his first attempt at the record ended after 7.5 miles with a broken gearbox. Patricio O'Ward's first crack at it ended bumped from the grid with Carlin. Rinus VeeKay is the newcomer, wet behind the ears.
On August 23, 2020, Herta will be 20 years and 147 days old. O'Ward will be 21 years and 110 days old. VeeKay will be 20 years and 348 days old. All three drivers will have at least one more bite at the apple in 2021 but 2021 will be the final shot for shots for O'Ward and VeeKay. Herta will have a finale shot in 2022.
There is one name that you might be thinking would have a shot at this record and that is Santino Ferrucci. If the Indianapolis 500 was run on its scheduled date of May 24, Ferrucci would be 21 years and 360 days old. However, since the race was kicked back to August 23, Ferrucci will be 22 years and 85 days old, five days older than the record. Second youngest wouldn't be that bad but it does not have the same ring.
Four Decades with a Victory
Drivers: Tony Kanaan
Current Situation: Kanaan has won a race in three decades. Only driver to win in four decades is Mario Andretti
This one is a stretch because Kanaan will not be full-time, he will be driving for A.J. Foyt Racing and his last two seasons have seen significant steps back but this is a historical one to be put into perspective.
Only Mario Andretti has won an IndyCar race in four different decades. That's it. That is the list. Fourteen other drivers have won a race in three decades but only Andretti has won in four. A.J. Foyt raced until 1992 but his last victory was in 1981. Gordon Johncock also raced until 1992, his last victory was in 1983. Al Unser's career made it to 1993 but his final victory was his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in 1987. Many have tried, only one has succeeded.
This brings us to our latest challenger, Tony Kanaan.
This achievement involves a bit of fortune. Kanaan's career gets started in the late 1990s. He won his first race in 1999 at Michigan after Max Papis ran out of fuel and with a charging Juan Pablo Montoya closing on Kanaan. Kanaan held off Montoya by 0.032 seconds. If Papis had another half-gallon of fuel or if Montoya was 0.033 seconds quicker or if the start/finish line was 20-feet further down the track, Kanaan only has a victory in two decades.
Take Hélio Castroneves as an example. Castroneves won a race in only two decades but he raced in the 1990s and came close to a few victories, however, he does not get his maiden triumph until 2000.
Take Colton Herta as another example. Herta won a race last year. If he wins a race this year he will have won a race in two different decades and it only took him two years for such an achievement. Castroneves had to wait an entire decade to complete the same achievement.
Some of this is fortune but another part of it is longevity and talent.
We all know Mario Andretti is one of the greatest drivers of all-time with a career spanning the entire life of a baby boomer. While Kanaan's career started at the right time for him to be positioned for such an achievement, he has been a constant driver from more than 20 years. He was one of the top drivers in the early 2000s and it took him a while but he finally got his Indianapolis 500 glory in the early 2010s.
This is the twilight of Kanaan's career. Even he has admitted his time is almost up and he is winding down what has been a beautiful career. He might not have been shots at this but if anyone could pull off an Indianapolis stunner in his mid-40s it is Kanaan.
There is one other driver you should keep an eye on for this record and he was mentioned above... Juan Pablo Montoya. Like Kanaan, his career started at the right time, he dominated 1999 and then won a few times in 2000 and just like that in two years he had won in two different decades. Flash-forward to 2014, over a decade since he was last in an IndyCar and Montoya returns and picks up a victory at Pocono with a few more victories, including another at Indianapolis, and he has won in three different decades.
Montoya has been sidelined from IndyCar the past two seasons but the itch is still there. If the man can return after 14 years away and score a handful of victories, who is to say he could not return in 2021 or 2022 and pull into victory lane a few more times at the age of 46 or 47. It is Montoya. He is bound to re-write the record book.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Let's Revise the League - April 2020
Nothing is going on... ok that is an exaggeration but there is not a lot of actual motorsports events going on. You can only write so much about the iRacing events and schedule speculation.
There is a shallowness to iRacing events. They are one-day shows. You do not know what the entry list will look like and in some cases (*cough* NASCAR *cough*) the format changes up to the morning of the race. Practices are not scheduled or publicly promoted and it is difficult to draw anything from what happens in the days leading up to a race.
Schedule speculation lives for a second. One day, everything is moving in one direction and the next day it is moving in the opposite direction. It shifts almost hourly. You are never where you are started at the beginning of the day and right when you think you have plans set it changes all over again.
With nothing on-deck and nothing to take seriously, let's delve back into the world of make-believe. We were all set for the season to commence and had broken up IndyCar into a league format for 2020. With the IndyCar season seeing two revisions, three cancellations, two doubleheaders created, a postponed but yet to be rescheduled St. Petersburg race and an additional Indianapolis Motor Speedway race called Harvest Grand Prix, it is time to look at the league and what has to be amended.
Originally, the regular season was 14 weeks and the final three races would be for the playoffs, both for determining the championship and final promotion/relegation spots. As of today, the IndyCar schedule sits at 15 races, two fewer than the original schedule.
Like actual IndyCar, it is hard to make any revisions because it seems something else is bound to change again. It is difficult to make up two races. The easy thing to do would be to have the regular season and instead of having a playoff the final race could be the championship decider with the top of each conference going head-to-head. It would be like the World Series from 1903 to 1968, no playoffs, no wild cards, the best against the best.
How could we salvage some type of playoffs? We cannot create a race out of nothing. Could we retroactively take into consideration the iRacing events? Should we count the final two iRacing events? That would be odd but this doesn't exist. It doesn't matter. It wouldn't hurt but it feels too odd.
The only thing that I think could be incorporated into the schedule is Indianapolis 500 qualifying. It is unlike a traditional qualifying session. Each entrant may take multiple attempts. It is a full-day event. For a decade, Indianapolis 500 qualifying has had its own points system and with a few variations. At one point, it was basically treated as another race. I think it makes sense.
That is one event back but one more still has to be made. We could take qualifying from another race but every other race outside the Indianapolis 500 does not have a great qualifying format. Every road and street course race has the same issue. If you take a matchup and each are in a different qualifying group, both are competing in different settings. "Driver A" could be in group one and end up seventh in the group. "Driver B" could end up ninth in group two but run faster than "Driver A" and if you go on start position "Driver A" would win. If you go on time, "Driver B" would win but neither result would feel right.
Oval race qualifying is more fair but it is one run and if it rains it is set via entrant points. You would not want a matchup decided via entrant points. That is as anti-climatic as you can get.
I really don't have a great answer of how to get a 17th event on the schedule and this could be parsed down to 16 events. The playoffs could be truncated with the top two from each conference advancing and the promotion/relegation playoff could be scraped for one year with just the bottom of each conference going down and the top two from league two ascending up for 2021.
That doesn't sound too bad but I am going to leave the door open before calling this final. At this time you really shouldn't close the door on anything. There is bound to be a few more changes. Everything from here on is tentative:
Schedule
League One:
Week One (Texas)
#1 Penske vs. #7 AMSP
#9 Ganassi vs. #20 ECR
#12 Penske vs. #55 Coyne
#30 RLLR vs. #15 RLLR
#22 Penske vs. #98 Andretti
#27 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt
#10 Ganassi vs. #5 AMSP
#28 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne
Week Two (Road America)
#1 Penske vs. #20 ECR
#9 Ganassi vs. #7 AMSP
#12 Penske vs. #15 RLLR
#30 RLLR vs. #55 Coyne
#22 Penske vs. #14 Foyt
#27 Andretti vs. #98 Andretti
#10 Ganassi vs. #18 Coyne
#28 Andretti vs. #5 AMSP
Week Three (Richmond)
#1 Penske vs. #55 Coyne
#9 Ganassi vs. #15 RLLR
#12 Penske vs. #7 AMSP
#30 RLLR vs. #20 ECR
#22 Penske vs. #5 AMSP
#27 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne
#10 Ganassi vs. #98 Andretti
#28 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt
Week Four (Grand Prix of Indianapolis)
#1 Penske vs. #15 RLLR
#9 Ganassi vs. #12 Penske
#30 RLLR vs. #7 AMSP
#55 Coyne vs. #20 ECR
#22 Penske vs. #18 Coyne
#27 Andretti vs. #10 Ganassi
#28 Andretti vs. #98 Andretti
#5 AMSP vs. #14 Foyt
Week Five (Toronto)
#1 Penske vs. #30 RLLR
#9 Ganassi vs. #55 Coyne
#12 Penske vs. #20 ECR
#15 RLLR vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #28 Andretti
#27 Andretti vs. #5 AMSP
#10 Ganassi vs. #14 Foyt
#18 Coyne vs. #98 Andretti
Week Six (Iowa I)
#1 Penske vs. #12 Penske
#9 Ganassi vs. #30 RLLR
#15 RLLR vs. #20 ECR
#55 Coyne vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #10 Ganassi
#27 Andretti vs. #28 Andretti
#18 Coyne vs. #14 Foyt
#5 AMSP vs. #98 Andretti
Week Seven (Iowa II)
#1 Penske vs. #9 Ganassi
#12 Penske vs. #30 RLLR
#15 RLLR vs. #55 Coyne
#20 ECR vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #27 Andretti
#10 Ganassi vs. #28 Andretti
#18 Coyne vs. #5 AMSP
#14 Foyt vs. #98 Andretti
Week Eight (Mid-Ohio)
#1 Penske vs. #7 AMSP
#9 Ganassi vs. #20 ECR
#12 Penske vs. #55 Coyne
#30 RLLR vs. #15 RLLR
#22 Penske vs. #98 Andretti
#27 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt
#10 Ganassi vs. #5 AMSP
#28 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne
Week Nine (Indianapolis 500 Qualifying)
#1 Penske vs. #20 ECR
#9 Ganassi vs. #7 AMSP
#12 Penske vs. #15 RLLR
#30 RLLR vs. #55 Coyne
#22 Penske vs. #14 Foyt
#27 Andretti vs. #98 Andretti
#10 Ganassi vs. #18 Coyne
#28 Andretti vs. #5 AMSP
Week Ten (Indianapolis 500)
#1 Penske vs. #55 Coyne
#9 Ganassi vs. #15 RLLR
#12 Penske vs. #7 AMSP
#30 RLLR vs. #20 ECR
#22 Penske vs. #5 AMSP
#27 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne
#10 Ganassi vs. #98 Andretti
#28 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt
Week Eleven (Gateway)
#1 Penske vs. #15 RLLR
#9 Ganassi vs. #12 Penske
#30 RLLR vs. #7 AMSP
#55 Coyne vs. #20 ECR
#22 Penske vs. #18 Coyne
#27 Andretti vs. #10 Ganassi
#28 Andretti vs. #98 Andretti
#5 AMSP vs. #14 Foyt
Week Twelve (Portland)
#1 Penske vs. #30 RLLR
#9 Ganassi vs. #55 Coyne
#12 Penske vs. #20 ECR
#15 RLLR vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #28 Andretti
#27 Andretti vs. #5 AMSP
#10 Ganassi vs. #14 Foyt
#18 Coyne vs. #98 Andretti
Week Thirteen (Laguna Seca I)
#1 Penske vs. #12 Penske
#9 Ganassi vs. #30 RLLR
#15 RLLR vs. #20 ECR
#55 Coyne vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #10 Ganassi
#27 Andretti vs. #28 Andretti
#18 Coyne vs. #14 Foyt
#5 AMSP vs. #98 Andretti
Week Fourteen (Laguna Seca II)
#1 Penske vs. #9 Ganassi
#12 Penske vs. #30 RLLR
#15 RLLR vs. #55 Coyne
#20 ECR vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #27 Andretti
#10 Ganassi vs. #28 Andretti
#18 Coyne vs. #5 AMSP
#14 Foyt vs. #98 Andretti
League Two
Week One (Texas)
#88 AHSR vs. #60 MSR
#21 ECR vs. #8 CGR
#26 Andretti vs. #31 Carlin
#59 Carlin vs. #4 Foyt
Week Two (Road America)
#88 AHSR vs. #8 CGR
#21 ECR vs. #60 MSR
#26 Andretti vs. #4 Foyt
#59 Carlin vs. #31 Carlin
Week Three (Richmond)
#88 AHSR vs. #31 Carlin
#21 ECR vs. #4 Foyt
#26 Andretti vs. #60 MSR
#59 Carlin vs. #8 CGR
Week Four (Grand Prix of Indianapolis)
#88 AHSR vs. #4 Foyt
#21 ECR vs. #26 Andretti
#59 Carlin vs. #60 MSR
#31 Carlin vs. #8 CGR
Week Five (Toronto)
#88 AHSR vs. #59 Carlin
#21 ECR vs. #31 Carlin
#26 Andretti vs. #8 CGR
#4 Foyt vs. #60 MSR
Week Six (Iowa I)
#88 AHSR vs. #26 Andretti
#21 ECR vs. #59 Carlin
#4 Foyt vs. #8 CGR
#31 Carlin vs. #60 MSR
Week Seven (Iowa II)
#88 AHSR vs. #21 ECR
#26 Andretti vs. #59 Carlin
#4 Foyt vs. #31 Carlin
#8 CGR vs. #60 MSR
Week Eight (Mid-Ohio)
#88 AHSR vs. #60 MSR
#21 ECR vs. #8 CGR
#26 Andretti vs. #31 Carlin
#59 Carlin vs. #4 Foyt
Week Nine (Indianapolis 500 Qualifying)
#88 AHSR vs. #8 CGR
#21 ECR vs. #60 MSR
#26 Andretti vs. #4 Foyt
#59 Carlin vs. #31 Carlin
Week Ten (Indianapolis 500)
#88 AHSR vs. #31 Carlin
#21 ECR vs. #4 Foyt
#26 Andretti vs. #60 MSR
#59 Carlin vs. #8 CGR
Week Eleven (Gateway)
#88 AHSR vs. #4 Foyt
#21 ECR vs. #26 Andretti
#59 Carlin vs. #60 MSR
#31 Carlin vs. #8 CGR
Week Twelve (Portland)
#88 AHSR vs. #59 Carlin
#21 ECR vs. #31 Carlin
#26 Andretti vs. #8 CGR
#4 Foyt vs. #60 MSR
Week Thirteen (Laguna Seca I)
#88 AHSR vs. #26 Andretti
#21 ECR vs. #59 Carlin
#4 Foyt vs. #8 CGR
#31 Carlin vs. #60 MSR
Week Fourteen (Laguna Seca II)
#88 AHSR vs. #21 ECR
#26 Andretti vs. #59 Carlin
#4 Foyt vs. #31 Carlin
#8 CGR vs. #60 MSR
As of now, the regular season ends at Laguna Seca for both leagues and it would be better to have both Laguna Seca races in the regular season or both races in the playoffs rather than have it split. If we are adding a 17th event it would likely come before Laguna Seca, which would mean one of those events would get pushed into the playoffs if it was an eight-team bracket. In a truncated playoffs, the Harvest Grand Prix and St. Petersburg would be the two rounds with Indianapolis being the semifinals and St. Petersburg being the finals.
Everything is still hanging in the air and if there is another postponed event it would likely be moved to October if it were to be made up at all, which would force another revision to the schedule. This all feels futile but imagine how it must feel trying to revise the real thing. They have to plan for something even if it all seems fruitless.
There is a shallowness to iRacing events. They are one-day shows. You do not know what the entry list will look like and in some cases (*cough* NASCAR *cough*) the format changes up to the morning of the race. Practices are not scheduled or publicly promoted and it is difficult to draw anything from what happens in the days leading up to a race.
Schedule speculation lives for a second. One day, everything is moving in one direction and the next day it is moving in the opposite direction. It shifts almost hourly. You are never where you are started at the beginning of the day and right when you think you have plans set it changes all over again.
With nothing on-deck and nothing to take seriously, let's delve back into the world of make-believe. We were all set for the season to commence and had broken up IndyCar into a league format for 2020. With the IndyCar season seeing two revisions, three cancellations, two doubleheaders created, a postponed but yet to be rescheduled St. Petersburg race and an additional Indianapolis Motor Speedway race called Harvest Grand Prix, it is time to look at the league and what has to be amended.
Originally, the regular season was 14 weeks and the final three races would be for the playoffs, both for determining the championship and final promotion/relegation spots. As of today, the IndyCar schedule sits at 15 races, two fewer than the original schedule.
Like actual IndyCar, it is hard to make any revisions because it seems something else is bound to change again. It is difficult to make up two races. The easy thing to do would be to have the regular season and instead of having a playoff the final race could be the championship decider with the top of each conference going head-to-head. It would be like the World Series from 1903 to 1968, no playoffs, no wild cards, the best against the best.
How could we salvage some type of playoffs? We cannot create a race out of nothing. Could we retroactively take into consideration the iRacing events? Should we count the final two iRacing events? That would be odd but this doesn't exist. It doesn't matter. It wouldn't hurt but it feels too odd.
The only thing that I think could be incorporated into the schedule is Indianapolis 500 qualifying. It is unlike a traditional qualifying session. Each entrant may take multiple attempts. It is a full-day event. For a decade, Indianapolis 500 qualifying has had its own points system and with a few variations. At one point, it was basically treated as another race. I think it makes sense.
That is one event back but one more still has to be made. We could take qualifying from another race but every other race outside the Indianapolis 500 does not have a great qualifying format. Every road and street course race has the same issue. If you take a matchup and each are in a different qualifying group, both are competing in different settings. "Driver A" could be in group one and end up seventh in the group. "Driver B" could end up ninth in group two but run faster than "Driver A" and if you go on start position "Driver A" would win. If you go on time, "Driver B" would win but neither result would feel right.
Oval race qualifying is more fair but it is one run and if it rains it is set via entrant points. You would not want a matchup decided via entrant points. That is as anti-climatic as you can get.
I really don't have a great answer of how to get a 17th event on the schedule and this could be parsed down to 16 events. The playoffs could be truncated with the top two from each conference advancing and the promotion/relegation playoff could be scraped for one year with just the bottom of each conference going down and the top two from league two ascending up for 2021.
That doesn't sound too bad but I am going to leave the door open before calling this final. At this time you really shouldn't close the door on anything. There is bound to be a few more changes. Everything from here on is tentative:
Schedule
League One:
Week One (Texas)
#1 Penske vs. #7 AMSP
#9 Ganassi vs. #20 ECR
#12 Penske vs. #55 Coyne
#30 RLLR vs. #15 RLLR
#22 Penske vs. #98 Andretti
#27 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt
#10 Ganassi vs. #5 AMSP
#28 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne
Week Two (Road America)
#1 Penske vs. #20 ECR
#9 Ganassi vs. #7 AMSP
#12 Penske vs. #15 RLLR
#30 RLLR vs. #55 Coyne
#22 Penske vs. #14 Foyt
#27 Andretti vs. #98 Andretti
#10 Ganassi vs. #18 Coyne
#28 Andretti vs. #5 AMSP
Week Three (Richmond)
#1 Penske vs. #55 Coyne
#9 Ganassi vs. #15 RLLR
#12 Penske vs. #7 AMSP
#30 RLLR vs. #20 ECR
#22 Penske vs. #5 AMSP
#27 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne
#10 Ganassi vs. #98 Andretti
#28 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt
Week Four (Grand Prix of Indianapolis)
#1 Penske vs. #15 RLLR
#9 Ganassi vs. #12 Penske
#30 RLLR vs. #7 AMSP
#55 Coyne vs. #20 ECR
#22 Penske vs. #18 Coyne
#27 Andretti vs. #10 Ganassi
#28 Andretti vs. #98 Andretti
#5 AMSP vs. #14 Foyt
Week Five (Toronto)
#1 Penske vs. #30 RLLR
#9 Ganassi vs. #55 Coyne
#12 Penske vs. #20 ECR
#15 RLLR vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #28 Andretti
#27 Andretti vs. #5 AMSP
#10 Ganassi vs. #14 Foyt
#18 Coyne vs. #98 Andretti
Week Six (Iowa I)
#1 Penske vs. #12 Penske
#9 Ganassi vs. #30 RLLR
#15 RLLR vs. #20 ECR
#55 Coyne vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #10 Ganassi
#27 Andretti vs. #28 Andretti
#18 Coyne vs. #14 Foyt
#5 AMSP vs. #98 Andretti
Week Seven (Iowa II)
#1 Penske vs. #9 Ganassi
#12 Penske vs. #30 RLLR
#15 RLLR vs. #55 Coyne
#20 ECR vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #27 Andretti
#10 Ganassi vs. #28 Andretti
#18 Coyne vs. #5 AMSP
#14 Foyt vs. #98 Andretti
Week Eight (Mid-Ohio)
#1 Penske vs. #7 AMSP
#9 Ganassi vs. #20 ECR
#12 Penske vs. #55 Coyne
#30 RLLR vs. #15 RLLR
#22 Penske vs. #98 Andretti
#27 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt
#10 Ganassi vs. #5 AMSP
#28 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne
Week Nine (Indianapolis 500 Qualifying)
#1 Penske vs. #20 ECR
#9 Ganassi vs. #7 AMSP
#12 Penske vs. #15 RLLR
#30 RLLR vs. #55 Coyne
#22 Penske vs. #14 Foyt
#27 Andretti vs. #98 Andretti
#10 Ganassi vs. #18 Coyne
#28 Andretti vs. #5 AMSP
Week Ten (Indianapolis 500)
#1 Penske vs. #55 Coyne
#9 Ganassi vs. #15 RLLR
#12 Penske vs. #7 AMSP
#30 RLLR vs. #20 ECR
#22 Penske vs. #5 AMSP
#27 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne
#10 Ganassi vs. #98 Andretti
#28 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt
Week Eleven (Gateway)
#1 Penske vs. #15 RLLR
#9 Ganassi vs. #12 Penske
#30 RLLR vs. #7 AMSP
#55 Coyne vs. #20 ECR
#22 Penske vs. #18 Coyne
#27 Andretti vs. #10 Ganassi
#28 Andretti vs. #98 Andretti
#5 AMSP vs. #14 Foyt
Week Twelve (Portland)
#1 Penske vs. #30 RLLR
#9 Ganassi vs. #55 Coyne
#12 Penske vs. #20 ECR
#15 RLLR vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #28 Andretti
#27 Andretti vs. #5 AMSP
#10 Ganassi vs. #14 Foyt
#18 Coyne vs. #98 Andretti
Week Thirteen (Laguna Seca I)
#1 Penske vs. #12 Penske
#9 Ganassi vs. #30 RLLR
#15 RLLR vs. #20 ECR
#55 Coyne vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #10 Ganassi
#27 Andretti vs. #28 Andretti
#18 Coyne vs. #14 Foyt
#5 AMSP vs. #98 Andretti
Week Fourteen (Laguna Seca II)
#1 Penske vs. #9 Ganassi
#12 Penske vs. #30 RLLR
#15 RLLR vs. #55 Coyne
#20 ECR vs. #7 AMSP
#22 Penske vs. #27 Andretti
#10 Ganassi vs. #28 Andretti
#18 Coyne vs. #5 AMSP
#14 Foyt vs. #98 Andretti
Week One (Texas)
#88 AHSR vs. #60 MSR
#21 ECR vs. #8 CGR
#26 Andretti vs. #31 Carlin
#59 Carlin vs. #4 Foyt
Week Two (Road America)
#88 AHSR vs. #8 CGR
#21 ECR vs. #60 MSR
#26 Andretti vs. #4 Foyt
#59 Carlin vs. #31 Carlin
Week Three (Richmond)
#88 AHSR vs. #31 Carlin
#21 ECR vs. #4 Foyt
#26 Andretti vs. #60 MSR
#59 Carlin vs. #8 CGR
Week Four (Grand Prix of Indianapolis)
#88 AHSR vs. #4 Foyt
#21 ECR vs. #26 Andretti
#59 Carlin vs. #60 MSR
#31 Carlin vs. #8 CGR
Week Five (Toronto)
#88 AHSR vs. #59 Carlin
#21 ECR vs. #31 Carlin
#26 Andretti vs. #8 CGR
#4 Foyt vs. #60 MSR
Week Six (Iowa I)
#88 AHSR vs. #26 Andretti
#21 ECR vs. #59 Carlin
#4 Foyt vs. #8 CGR
#31 Carlin vs. #60 MSR
Week Seven (Iowa II)
#88 AHSR vs. #21 ECR
#26 Andretti vs. #59 Carlin
#4 Foyt vs. #31 Carlin
#8 CGR vs. #60 MSR
Week Eight (Mid-Ohio)
#88 AHSR vs. #60 MSR
#21 ECR vs. #8 CGR
#26 Andretti vs. #31 Carlin
#59 Carlin vs. #4 Foyt
Week Nine (Indianapolis 500 Qualifying)
#88 AHSR vs. #8 CGR
#21 ECR vs. #60 MSR
#26 Andretti vs. #4 Foyt
#59 Carlin vs. #31 Carlin
Week Ten (Indianapolis 500)
#88 AHSR vs. #31 Carlin
#21 ECR vs. #4 Foyt
#26 Andretti vs. #60 MSR
#59 Carlin vs. #8 CGR
Week Eleven (Gateway)
#88 AHSR vs. #4 Foyt
#21 ECR vs. #26 Andretti
#59 Carlin vs. #60 MSR
#31 Carlin vs. #8 CGR
Week Twelve (Portland)
#88 AHSR vs. #59 Carlin
#21 ECR vs. #31 Carlin
#26 Andretti vs. #8 CGR
#4 Foyt vs. #60 MSR
Week Thirteen (Laguna Seca I)
#88 AHSR vs. #26 Andretti
#21 ECR vs. #59 Carlin
#4 Foyt vs. #8 CGR
#31 Carlin vs. #60 MSR
Week Fourteen (Laguna Seca II)
#88 AHSR vs. #21 ECR
#26 Andretti vs. #59 Carlin
#4 Foyt vs. #31 Carlin
#8 CGR vs. #60 MSR
As of now, the regular season ends at Laguna Seca for both leagues and it would be better to have both Laguna Seca races in the regular season or both races in the playoffs rather than have it split. If we are adding a 17th event it would likely come before Laguna Seca, which would mean one of those events would get pushed into the playoffs if it was an eight-team bracket. In a truncated playoffs, the Harvest Grand Prix and St. Petersburg would be the two rounds with Indianapolis being the semifinals and St. Petersburg being the finals.
Everything is still hanging in the air and if there is another postponed event it would likely be moved to October if it were to be made up at all, which would force another revision to the schedule. This all feels futile but imagine how it must feel trying to revise the real thing. They have to plan for something even if it all seems fruitless.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Musings From the Weekend: Life is but a Dream
Things haven't changed but the push for events to return grows stronger. This push comes despite increased bans of large public gatherings in places such as Germany, Belgium and France. In the virtual world, Simon Pagenaud made it consecutive iRacing victories, seven classes took to the track at Long Beach, NASCAR continues to get in its own way, past McLaren drivers were outstanding at Lime Rock Park and IMSA returned to competition. Sadly, Bob Lazier passed away aged 81. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
Life is but a Dream
Two scheduled weekends remain in IndyCar's iRacing calendar and the final weekend has left the door open for a "dream" non-IndyCar track.
Many venues meet the requirement of having never hosted an IndyCar race. Places from all around the globe have never seen North America's top open-wheel series circle their circuits with championship points, money and a trophy on the line. Some are not practical in terms of safety. Some are not practical logistically. Some could be done but the stars have never aligned. In a fortnight, all those reasons will not withhold the unseen from taking place in the simulated world.
There is a problem with dreams. In the right mind they are boundless. There is no impossible in the subconscious. Opposites collide and form the unthinkable, a creation the real world could never fathom. In two weeks, only one IndyCar dream will come true and there are many competing interests.
Through four weeks of IndyCar iRacing competition we saw an eight-track bracket with fan votes decide the first race and Watkins Glen came out on top. Barber took place the second weekend on its originally scheduled date. The "drivers" chose Michigan, the runner-up in the fan choice bracket for week one and the "random" track was Motegi, which also happened to be in the eight-track bracket back in week one.
All four contested tracks had IndyCar history but that didn't need to be the case. The "drivers" could have selected something unknown. Randomness could have been slightly more random. After two road course events, we took to two ovals and Austin fills out its scheduled date this upcoming Sunday. The "dream" to close this affair can go in many different directions and this will not be without outside influence if the last few weeks tell us anything.
Michigan's announcement came after Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s expressed interest to compete in one of IndyCar's events if it was an oval. When Earnhardt, Jr. said he would return if there was another oval, Motegi randomly fell into the schedule. Earnhardt, Jr. couldn't make the second date.
With Earnhardt, Jr. likely not running at Austin, his final chance to make good on his word is if IndyCar has an oval on the first Saturday in May. Leading nominees for that spot are Daytona and Talladega, two tracks where he had tremendous success in his NASCAR career, two tracks where IndyCar is not practical in real life.
Early in this foray, a place like Bathurst appeared the front-runner for the dream. The exhilarating road course in Australia forces a driver to run on the edge even in the most hair-rising corners. The only place to breathe is the front straightaway and after the left-handed turn one, Hell Corner, the trapeze act on the razor blade begins all over again.
Bathurst leads the international possibilities but many other spectacular circuits exists where IndyCar has never ventured, from Spa-Francorchamps to Circuit de la Sarthe, Zandvoort to Suzuka, Nürburgring to Interlagos.
Besides the high-speed American super speedways and the international motorsports landmarks, there are the sheer preposterous locations, the places IndyCar could never run, the dirt tracks. We will never see IndyCar take to Eldora, Knoxville, Williams Grove or Kokomo in the physical world but the simulated work makes it possible.
The law of physics no longer apply in iRacing and if this competition is for fun then let's have fun with it. Let's leave the door open for something we could never see in person but only in our dreams.
Many of these major iRacing events taking place during this period of quarantine have been grounded in reality for the most part. Every IndyCar event has been at a venue with IndyCar history. NASCAR follows its original calendar. IMSA is running GTLM cars at IMSA tracks, outside of a few Ford GTs on the grid it is up to 2020 standards. The Race has been the most creative, running Indy Pro 2000 cars at Silverstone and having used the Brabham BT44 and McLaren M23 in the Legend Trophy races and running at NOLA Motorsports Park, Sebring and Lime Rock Park. Outside of that we have not seen any series do anything wild raising a few eyebrows.
The final IndyCar weekend is scheduled as a dream weekend but whose dream is it?
IndyCar's bracket competition for the first track allowed fans to participate in the process during what has been a time of separation. We have lost four races, four chances for fans to get autographs, take photos and watch cars whiz around city streets or undulating ribbons of asphalt purposely laid for race cars. After going through scheduled races and pre-determined plans, bringing it full circle and letting the fans decide would be a fitting way to close this competition.
Shouldn't this dream race be the dreams of fans coming true?
Everything IndyCar has done in this process has been organized. I have been cheeky with how drivers' choice and the random choice played out but IndyCar has done a stellar job through all this. We have seen good races almost every week. Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kyle Busch and Hélio Castroneves all made cameo appearances. IndyCar provides entry lists, spotter guides and even promotes second-screen options for each race. The races have been broadcasted on television. All things considered IndyCar has done its best.
With this dream race, a return to the bracketed format would be a great way to fill a week or then some for the fans. Eight tracks is the simplest but when it comes to this dream we could probably scrape together 16 venues for a bracket.
I am not sure if it is best to split the field putting ovals all on one side and road courses on the other or mixing the disciplines together from the start. Between Bathurst, Talladega, Bristol, Le Mans, Kokomo, Darlington, Nürburgring and Suzuka there is no clear winner.
Whatever is decided it is IndyCar's last chance to do something memorable and hopefully it will be the last iRacing event for IndyCar before competition can resume in June. I feel a few additional events will be added to the docket for the month of May but as of today May 2 is the finish line and it is one final chance to leave an impression.
My only fear is this dream will be hijacked. Instead of letting a grand conjuring form from collective minds those with power will manipulate it for their own interests, as unimaginative as those interests are.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Simon Pagenaud but did you know...
Jan Magnussen and Juan Pablo Montoya split the Legends Trophy races from Lime Rock Park.
Bruno Spengler won the IMSA iRacing event from Laguna Seca.
Matt Wishart won Thursday Night Blunder from Long Beach.
William Byron won the NASCAR race from Richmond. Josh Berry won the non-Cup driver race.
Charles Leclerc won Formula One's video game race at Shanghai
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar has a race from Austin.
Thursday Night Blunder will be at Talladega with the 2009 NASCAR Cup car, LMP1 cars and legend cars.
NASCAR will be the undercard event from Talladega.
Life is but a Dream
Two scheduled weekends remain in IndyCar's iRacing calendar and the final weekend has left the door open for a "dream" non-IndyCar track.
Many venues meet the requirement of having never hosted an IndyCar race. Places from all around the globe have never seen North America's top open-wheel series circle their circuits with championship points, money and a trophy on the line. Some are not practical in terms of safety. Some are not practical logistically. Some could be done but the stars have never aligned. In a fortnight, all those reasons will not withhold the unseen from taking place in the simulated world.
There is a problem with dreams. In the right mind they are boundless. There is no impossible in the subconscious. Opposites collide and form the unthinkable, a creation the real world could never fathom. In two weeks, only one IndyCar dream will come true and there are many competing interests.
Through four weeks of IndyCar iRacing competition we saw an eight-track bracket with fan votes decide the first race and Watkins Glen came out on top. Barber took place the second weekend on its originally scheduled date. The "drivers" chose Michigan, the runner-up in the fan choice bracket for week one and the "random" track was Motegi, which also happened to be in the eight-track bracket back in week one.
All four contested tracks had IndyCar history but that didn't need to be the case. The "drivers" could have selected something unknown. Randomness could have been slightly more random. After two road course events, we took to two ovals and Austin fills out its scheduled date this upcoming Sunday. The "dream" to close this affair can go in many different directions and this will not be without outside influence if the last few weeks tell us anything.
Michigan's announcement came after Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s expressed interest to compete in one of IndyCar's events if it was an oval. When Earnhardt, Jr. said he would return if there was another oval, Motegi randomly fell into the schedule. Earnhardt, Jr. couldn't make the second date.
With Earnhardt, Jr. likely not running at Austin, his final chance to make good on his word is if IndyCar has an oval on the first Saturday in May. Leading nominees for that spot are Daytona and Talladega, two tracks where he had tremendous success in his NASCAR career, two tracks where IndyCar is not practical in real life.
Early in this foray, a place like Bathurst appeared the front-runner for the dream. The exhilarating road course in Australia forces a driver to run on the edge even in the most hair-rising corners. The only place to breathe is the front straightaway and after the left-handed turn one, Hell Corner, the trapeze act on the razor blade begins all over again.
Bathurst leads the international possibilities but many other spectacular circuits exists where IndyCar has never ventured, from Spa-Francorchamps to Circuit de la Sarthe, Zandvoort to Suzuka, Nürburgring to Interlagos.
Besides the high-speed American super speedways and the international motorsports landmarks, there are the sheer preposterous locations, the places IndyCar could never run, the dirt tracks. We will never see IndyCar take to Eldora, Knoxville, Williams Grove or Kokomo in the physical world but the simulated work makes it possible.
The law of physics no longer apply in iRacing and if this competition is for fun then let's have fun with it. Let's leave the door open for something we could never see in person but only in our dreams.
Many of these major iRacing events taking place during this period of quarantine have been grounded in reality for the most part. Every IndyCar event has been at a venue with IndyCar history. NASCAR follows its original calendar. IMSA is running GTLM cars at IMSA tracks, outside of a few Ford GTs on the grid it is up to 2020 standards. The Race has been the most creative, running Indy Pro 2000 cars at Silverstone and having used the Brabham BT44 and McLaren M23 in the Legend Trophy races and running at NOLA Motorsports Park, Sebring and Lime Rock Park. Outside of that we have not seen any series do anything wild raising a few eyebrows.
The final IndyCar weekend is scheduled as a dream weekend but whose dream is it?
IndyCar's bracket competition for the first track allowed fans to participate in the process during what has been a time of separation. We have lost four races, four chances for fans to get autographs, take photos and watch cars whiz around city streets or undulating ribbons of asphalt purposely laid for race cars. After going through scheduled races and pre-determined plans, bringing it full circle and letting the fans decide would be a fitting way to close this competition.
Shouldn't this dream race be the dreams of fans coming true?
Everything IndyCar has done in this process has been organized. I have been cheeky with how drivers' choice and the random choice played out but IndyCar has done a stellar job through all this. We have seen good races almost every week. Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kyle Busch and Hélio Castroneves all made cameo appearances. IndyCar provides entry lists, spotter guides and even promotes second-screen options for each race. The races have been broadcasted on television. All things considered IndyCar has done its best.
With this dream race, a return to the bracketed format would be a great way to fill a week or then some for the fans. Eight tracks is the simplest but when it comes to this dream we could probably scrape together 16 venues for a bracket.
I am not sure if it is best to split the field putting ovals all on one side and road courses on the other or mixing the disciplines together from the start. Between Bathurst, Talladega, Bristol, Le Mans, Kokomo, Darlington, Nürburgring and Suzuka there is no clear winner.
Whatever is decided it is IndyCar's last chance to do something memorable and hopefully it will be the last iRacing event for IndyCar before competition can resume in June. I feel a few additional events will be added to the docket for the month of May but as of today May 2 is the finish line and it is one final chance to leave an impression.
My only fear is this dream will be hijacked. Instead of letting a grand conjuring form from collective minds those with power will manipulate it for their own interests, as unimaginative as those interests are.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Simon Pagenaud but did you know...
Jan Magnussen and Juan Pablo Montoya split the Legends Trophy races from Lime Rock Park.
Bruno Spengler won the IMSA iRacing event from Laguna Seca.
Matt Wishart won Thursday Night Blunder from Long Beach.
William Byron won the NASCAR race from Richmond. Josh Berry won the non-Cup driver race.
Charles Leclerc won Formula One's video game race at Shanghai
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar has a race from Austin.
Thursday Night Blunder will be at Talladega with the 2009 NASCAR Cup car, LMP1 cars and legend cars.
NASCAR will be the undercard event from Talladega.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
First Impressions: IndyCar iRacing Motegi 2020
1. Simon Pagenaud did it again. While strategy played a little role this week, fortune came in the form of lapped traffic, which broke up a Penske 1-2-3, but Pagenaud positioned himself to take the lead when trouble befell the team.
Will Power dictated much of this race from the start and after the final round of pit stops Power led Scott McLaughlin with Pagenaud in third. It was looking good for the Penske trio with two seconds to Scott Dixon in fourth. In the final ten laps, the battle between teammates picked up. McLaughlin investigated taking the lead from Power and when the New Zealander made a significant move on the outside of turn three, Power had lapped traffic in the form of Oliver Askew diving in on the inside.
Askew set off the chain reaction, nudging Power up the track and Power sent McLaughlin spinning into the barrier.
Power held onto the lead but with front wing damage, Pagenaud struck and took the lead. Dixon came on through to second and put together a charge for the lead in the closing laps. Dixon's best attempt for the lead was into turn one on the start of the final lap. Pagenaud pinched him, contact was made, both cars stayed straight but Pagenaud was gone, unchallenged under the checkered flag with Dixon settling for second.
It was another race with Pagenaud stopping early in the final stint and picked up some time. He was in the top ten for most of this race. Third would have been a good finish. He was in the right place when two of his teammates were taken out. As gleeful Penske must have been for a possible 1-2-3 in the fourth event of this series, having cars in 1-2-3 allows for two mulligans though you hope neither will be necessary.
Down to the final bullet, Pagenaud hit the mark, as intended.
2. Where did Scott Dixon come from? No, really, where did he come from? The first two weeks were not the greatest for Dixon. He is not an iRacing regular. It was picked up after the birth of his third child, his son Kit, and in three weeks Dixon went from beginner to battling with the big boys.
During the second stint of this race it appeared Dixon was going to be the man to beat and drove to the lead. During the pit cycle he drop to fourth and lost a lot of ground to the three Penske drivers. It was probably fitting Dixon had a shot at victory on the final lap for how well his race had gone up until that final pit stop. Even if he had not finished second it would have been a day to be proud of with a top four finish.
3. For all his time at the front of the field Will Power has yet to score victory in this series. If this was a regular season and Power had a few podium finishes and basically been in the top five through the first four races we would be saying he has set himself up fantastically for a championship push and multiple victories are coming his way this season. There are only to rounds remaining in this series and it is hard to gauge if Power will breakthrough in one of the final two weekends or if he could be looking at another pair of top five finishes but frustration because he deserved more.
4. Marcus Ericsson was fourth and he spent almost the entire race in the top ten. Ericsson kept his nose clean and he got a top five out of it. He didn't do much stellar but after watching iRacing the last three weeks keeping it straight is more than half the battle, it is 66% of the battle. If you can do that you are going to be in the top ten.
5. Robert Wickens won pole position and finished fifth. Wickens' time at the front was short lived because he and Power had a moment exiting turn two early on and Wickens had to save the car, costing him many positions. How cruel motorsports can be where one slides backward due to actions of someone else while that person suffers no consequences. It is a pity but Wickens had another strong day and it is nothing to hang his head over.
6. Jack Harvey was another surprise today. Like Dixon, we had not seen much from Harvey in these first few races but Harvey was at the front for most of this race. The problem was he took a step back with each stint. In the first portion of the race, he was in the top three and occasionally mixing it up with Power and the leaders. After his first stop, he dropped to about five or sixth, after his second stop he was out of the picture and running seventh or eighth. Still a respectable outing but more practice will improve stamina over longer stints.
7. Sage Karam brushed the wall in qualifying and started 31st but he drove up to seventh. After two races where Karam started at the front only for incidents to sour his day this race sees him avoid all the trouble and truly drive to the front.
8. Zach Veach was in the top ten all race and was tenth. Santino Ferrucci and Graham Rahal both had strong days and rounded out the top ten.
9. Let's go over some other drivers:
Kyle Busch was 13th after spending most of the race on the tail end of the lead lap. Busch was trying to complete laps and while some drivers took different strategies or had incidents Busch climbed the order and finished solidly in the middle of the field.
Josef Newgarden stretched his fuel the longest on the final stint but he had to stop with 13 laps to go. This led to a 15th place result. Newgarden ran conservative laps to get the most distance out of his fuel but that time lost was never surmountable in the closing laps. You wonder if he stops ten laps earlier and does not have to run seven to eight-tenths slower than those behind him he could have pulled out a top ten.
A lap down and in 24th is brutal outcome for Scott McLaughlin. I do wonder if all this iRacing success inflates our expectations for when McLaughlin makes his IndyCar debut. Yes, he had a superb test at Austin and tested at Texas but his time in an actual IndyCar is slim. Simulators show only so much. He has been in the top five for every race in this iRacing series. His two oval starts have been stout. I am not sure anyone expects him to jump in and immediately be champion even for Team Penske but this is all people have to feast on and it will give the narrow-minded the wrong impression. I remain antsy for McLaughlin's first laps in an IndyCar but I worry the hoards will be angry if the results are not as glowing as seen the last few weeks.
Doubling back to Oliver Askew, I don't think that is something he would do in an actual race. It was a case of this being a simulation and a lapped car taking a risk with the only consequences being hurt feeling and not torn up race cars. Askew was at the front at the start of this race and then disappeared and that has been the case in every one of these events outside of Watkins Glen. Askew qualifies well but quickly he finds trouble and is out of the picture. I am not suggesting this is some kind of problem we will see when the IndyCar season starts but it is interesting to see the tendencies of drivers in iRacing. Some follow a consistent pattern and Askew's pattern is not flattering.
Oh, James Hinchcliffe had network connectivity issues again! And isn't Hinchcliffe's sponsor a tech company of some sorts? Not a great look.
10. This is just a side-effect of the situation but a downer in these races is the difficulty showing the pit cycles play out. Today, we had Dixon go from leading to behind the three Penske drivers and in a real race we would follow that in real time. We would watch the stops and see the Penske cars come out ahead of Dixon and note it immediately. In this arrangement it is unaddressed until five or six laps after the fact. There are limitations to this broadcast. This is being down with a skeleton crew spread around different parts of the country. Waiting to see the pit cycle play out is part of the game now but it is a change that is hard to adjust to when muscle memory has you conditioned to a rhythm.
11. It was fun to see Motegi again. I think Motegi's lack of appreciation came because it was always a race that started at midnight. Unless you stayed up late you didn't see the race and even if it was re-aired 15 hours later at 3:00 p.m. you didn't bother to watch it. It is a rare asymmetrical oval with a higher-banked turns one and two that allow for flat-out, side-by-side racing before a flatter turns three and four where cars have to lift and side-by-side racing cannot last long. It is bigger and wider than Darlington but has that feel. At is easy to clump 1.5-mile ovals into the same box but other than its length Motegi is nothing close to Homestead, Texas, Charlotte, Chicagoland, Kansas and Atlanta.
There are many hurdles in the way for a Motegi return. Unless Honda, NTT or Bridgestone wants to fund a trip for 26 IndyCar teams to go to Japan the track will not return. Roger Penske is not keen on flyaway IndyCar races. Majority of the sponsors have no business interest in Japan. Television does not want a Japanese race. It is all disappointing but it is reality. It was nice to experience it again.
12. It was great to see cars pitting entering turn three. It clear up 99% of the incidents. Thanks to Rinus VeeKay we cannot chalk this day up to one without any pit entrance problems but one spin out of 75 pit entrances is a massive improvement over last week at Michigan.
13. One caution in this one when about five cars had an accident exiting turn two on lap five. That caution happened too early for anyone to make it on two stops from there but some did use it to change up strategy. However, none of those drivers who stopped under that yellow can point to it being the main reason for their results today.
Outside of that incident there wasn't any others that really pointed to a caution being necessary. I even think the race could have gotten away with not throwing a caution for that early spin but it was at the back of the field and the leaders were coming around so it was an understandable call.
14. This was a good length in terms of the race, 113 laps or 175 miles. It was a two-stop race for everyone. We saw more tire degradation this week than Michigan. You could see drivers coming and going at the end of stints in this one.
15. Off to Austin. After two weeks of last minute announcements, we know we are going to Austin.
Will Power dictated much of this race from the start and after the final round of pit stops Power led Scott McLaughlin with Pagenaud in third. It was looking good for the Penske trio with two seconds to Scott Dixon in fourth. In the final ten laps, the battle between teammates picked up. McLaughlin investigated taking the lead from Power and when the New Zealander made a significant move on the outside of turn three, Power had lapped traffic in the form of Oliver Askew diving in on the inside.
Askew set off the chain reaction, nudging Power up the track and Power sent McLaughlin spinning into the barrier.
Power held onto the lead but with front wing damage, Pagenaud struck and took the lead. Dixon came on through to second and put together a charge for the lead in the closing laps. Dixon's best attempt for the lead was into turn one on the start of the final lap. Pagenaud pinched him, contact was made, both cars stayed straight but Pagenaud was gone, unchallenged under the checkered flag with Dixon settling for second.
It was another race with Pagenaud stopping early in the final stint and picked up some time. He was in the top ten for most of this race. Third would have been a good finish. He was in the right place when two of his teammates were taken out. As gleeful Penske must have been for a possible 1-2-3 in the fourth event of this series, having cars in 1-2-3 allows for two mulligans though you hope neither will be necessary.
Down to the final bullet, Pagenaud hit the mark, as intended.
2. Where did Scott Dixon come from? No, really, where did he come from? The first two weeks were not the greatest for Dixon. He is not an iRacing regular. It was picked up after the birth of his third child, his son Kit, and in three weeks Dixon went from beginner to battling with the big boys.
During the second stint of this race it appeared Dixon was going to be the man to beat and drove to the lead. During the pit cycle he drop to fourth and lost a lot of ground to the three Penske drivers. It was probably fitting Dixon had a shot at victory on the final lap for how well his race had gone up until that final pit stop. Even if he had not finished second it would have been a day to be proud of with a top four finish.
3. For all his time at the front of the field Will Power has yet to score victory in this series. If this was a regular season and Power had a few podium finishes and basically been in the top five through the first four races we would be saying he has set himself up fantastically for a championship push and multiple victories are coming his way this season. There are only to rounds remaining in this series and it is hard to gauge if Power will breakthrough in one of the final two weekends or if he could be looking at another pair of top five finishes but frustration because he deserved more.
4. Marcus Ericsson was fourth and he spent almost the entire race in the top ten. Ericsson kept his nose clean and he got a top five out of it. He didn't do much stellar but after watching iRacing the last three weeks keeping it straight is more than half the battle, it is 66% of the battle. If you can do that you are going to be in the top ten.
5. Robert Wickens won pole position and finished fifth. Wickens' time at the front was short lived because he and Power had a moment exiting turn two early on and Wickens had to save the car, costing him many positions. How cruel motorsports can be where one slides backward due to actions of someone else while that person suffers no consequences. It is a pity but Wickens had another strong day and it is nothing to hang his head over.
6. Jack Harvey was another surprise today. Like Dixon, we had not seen much from Harvey in these first few races but Harvey was at the front for most of this race. The problem was he took a step back with each stint. In the first portion of the race, he was in the top three and occasionally mixing it up with Power and the leaders. After his first stop, he dropped to about five or sixth, after his second stop he was out of the picture and running seventh or eighth. Still a respectable outing but more practice will improve stamina over longer stints.
7. Sage Karam brushed the wall in qualifying and started 31st but he drove up to seventh. After two races where Karam started at the front only for incidents to sour his day this race sees him avoid all the trouble and truly drive to the front.
8. Zach Veach was in the top ten all race and was tenth. Santino Ferrucci and Graham Rahal both had strong days and rounded out the top ten.
9. Let's go over some other drivers:
Kyle Busch was 13th after spending most of the race on the tail end of the lead lap. Busch was trying to complete laps and while some drivers took different strategies or had incidents Busch climbed the order and finished solidly in the middle of the field.
Josef Newgarden stretched his fuel the longest on the final stint but he had to stop with 13 laps to go. This led to a 15th place result. Newgarden ran conservative laps to get the most distance out of his fuel but that time lost was never surmountable in the closing laps. You wonder if he stops ten laps earlier and does not have to run seven to eight-tenths slower than those behind him he could have pulled out a top ten.
A lap down and in 24th is brutal outcome for Scott McLaughlin. I do wonder if all this iRacing success inflates our expectations for when McLaughlin makes his IndyCar debut. Yes, he had a superb test at Austin and tested at Texas but his time in an actual IndyCar is slim. Simulators show only so much. He has been in the top five for every race in this iRacing series. His two oval starts have been stout. I am not sure anyone expects him to jump in and immediately be champion even for Team Penske but this is all people have to feast on and it will give the narrow-minded the wrong impression. I remain antsy for McLaughlin's first laps in an IndyCar but I worry the hoards will be angry if the results are not as glowing as seen the last few weeks.
Doubling back to Oliver Askew, I don't think that is something he would do in an actual race. It was a case of this being a simulation and a lapped car taking a risk with the only consequences being hurt feeling and not torn up race cars. Askew was at the front at the start of this race and then disappeared and that has been the case in every one of these events outside of Watkins Glen. Askew qualifies well but quickly he finds trouble and is out of the picture. I am not suggesting this is some kind of problem we will see when the IndyCar season starts but it is interesting to see the tendencies of drivers in iRacing. Some follow a consistent pattern and Askew's pattern is not flattering.
Oh, James Hinchcliffe had network connectivity issues again! And isn't Hinchcliffe's sponsor a tech company of some sorts? Not a great look.
10. This is just a side-effect of the situation but a downer in these races is the difficulty showing the pit cycles play out. Today, we had Dixon go from leading to behind the three Penske drivers and in a real race we would follow that in real time. We would watch the stops and see the Penske cars come out ahead of Dixon and note it immediately. In this arrangement it is unaddressed until five or six laps after the fact. There are limitations to this broadcast. This is being down with a skeleton crew spread around different parts of the country. Waiting to see the pit cycle play out is part of the game now but it is a change that is hard to adjust to when muscle memory has you conditioned to a rhythm.
11. It was fun to see Motegi again. I think Motegi's lack of appreciation came because it was always a race that started at midnight. Unless you stayed up late you didn't see the race and even if it was re-aired 15 hours later at 3:00 p.m. you didn't bother to watch it. It is a rare asymmetrical oval with a higher-banked turns one and two that allow for flat-out, side-by-side racing before a flatter turns three and four where cars have to lift and side-by-side racing cannot last long. It is bigger and wider than Darlington but has that feel. At is easy to clump 1.5-mile ovals into the same box but other than its length Motegi is nothing close to Homestead, Texas, Charlotte, Chicagoland, Kansas and Atlanta.
There are many hurdles in the way for a Motegi return. Unless Honda, NTT or Bridgestone wants to fund a trip for 26 IndyCar teams to go to Japan the track will not return. Roger Penske is not keen on flyaway IndyCar races. Majority of the sponsors have no business interest in Japan. Television does not want a Japanese race. It is all disappointing but it is reality. It was nice to experience it again.
12. It was great to see cars pitting entering turn three. It clear up 99% of the incidents. Thanks to Rinus VeeKay we cannot chalk this day up to one without any pit entrance problems but one spin out of 75 pit entrances is a massive improvement over last week at Michigan.
13. One caution in this one when about five cars had an accident exiting turn two on lap five. That caution happened too early for anyone to make it on two stops from there but some did use it to change up strategy. However, none of those drivers who stopped under that yellow can point to it being the main reason for their results today.
Outside of that incident there wasn't any others that really pointed to a caution being necessary. I even think the race could have gotten away with not throwing a caution for that early spin but it was at the back of the field and the leaders were coming around so it was an understandable call.
14. This was a good length in terms of the race, 113 laps or 175 miles. It was a two-stop race for everyone. We saw more tire degradation this week than Michigan. You could see drivers coming and going at the end of stints in this one.
15. Off to Austin. After two weeks of last minute announcements, we know we are going to Austin.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Where Could NASCAR Race?
While IndyCar and Formula One can get away with championships holding a ten races or 14-races, NASCAR has a heftier quota to meet though it is becoming harder and harder to see how a 36-race season is feasible.
The sheer number of events needed makes a centralized NASCAR championship difficult to formulate. Add to it the variety of tracks NASCAR visits. What venue fulfills the requirements of short track, intermediate oval, superspeedway, road course, high-speed and low-speed, night and day races? Let's not forget teams specialize cars for certain tracks.
Sacrifice will be necessary for any centralized championship. Something is going to lose out.
Florida has raised its hand and deemed NASCAR essential but this is a thanks but no thanks situation.
Similar to IndyCar, NASCAR has a natural option in Charlotte. Ninety-nine percent of the teams are located in the area. It has a 1.5-mile oval and that doubles as the roval. It can run day and night races. Costs would be controlled. It makes sense on paper but it lacks a lot. Charlotte's oval has not been beloved for sometime and while the roval attracted praise it is still in the honeymoon phase. It is not as great as it has been made out to be and any slight alterations to the course are not going to be improvements.
There is one place currently on the NASCAR schedule offering an intermediate oval, road course, roval layouts and short track option. It requires some travel and it will require races in the heat but it could host ten different layouts and could easily give you 20 races.
How does Las Vegas sound?
Diversity of options does not spring to mind when thinking of Las Vegas Motor Speedway but the facility as a whole could give you two-and-a-half months of different racetrack configurations before you would have to repeat one.
The obvious option is the 1.5-mile oval, which hosts two Cup races but Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted the SRO GT World Challenge America series last year on a roval course. Inside the 1.5-mile oval is a road course with two usable configurations.
Options live outside the speedway itself with an external road course, which includes a 2.4-mile layout and let's not forget the Bullring, smaller than what the Cup series is used to be good enough to be a short-track option.
While the 1.5-mile oval and Bullring are known facilities in NASCAR circles, the roval options and road courses will need a little explaining.
GT World Challenge America competed on a 2.512-mile road course layout that utilized a large section of the oval course. The problem with that layout is it included a chicane on the front straightaway with the cars turning onto the quarter-mile oval before making a right turn onto pit lane and then proceeding back to the oval. This layout would not be suitable to NASCAR because NASCAR needs that part of the pit lane but the rest of the course works.
Two roval layouts exists, a long version at 2.555 miles and a shorter 2.24-mile circuit.
Staying inside the speedway, there is a 1.1-mile road course and a shorter 0.76-mile course. The 1.1-mile track is a full blown road course but the shorter option is a smaller Trenton with its kidney bean shape. It is a road course but is basically an oval.
It is unlike NASCAR to run a road course this small and neither course fit a typical NASCAR track but these atypical times will mean taking chances and doing different things. As long as the tracks are up to safety standards then it should be good to go.
Moving outside the track, there are four options for the external road course. The first is the 2.4-mile full course.
The second option excludes the top portion of the full course and is 1.96 miles in length.
"Course C" does not utilize the top position of the full course but also does not include the bottom portion either.
The final option includes the top portion of the full course but does not include the bottom portion.
The external road course is an unknown but it fills a void. I do not think any of the four should be used more than once.
There are ten options, the eight above, the 1.5-mile oval and the bullring. There are already four races completed for the 2020 season. The goal should be to fill out a 24-race season and perhaps even get a playoff in.
How do you breakdown those 20 races?
External road course: One race per layout
Short infield road course: Two races
Long infield road course: Two races
Short Roval: Two races
Long Roval: Two races
Bullring: Four races
Speedway: Four races
Weather makes Las Vegas difficult. We are talking about filling June through November. It is going to be hot, days are going to get longer and the time difference makes night races impractical. It would be more likely to see morning races in Las Vegas than night races until we get closer to autumn.
What could this schedule look like?
Regular Season
June 21: Speedway (300 miles)
June 28: Short internal road course (225 laps)
July 4: Bullring (300 laps)
July 18/19: Long Roval (doubleheader; first race: 78 laps, second race: 88 laps)
August 2: Course B (100 laps)
August 9: Course C (115 laps)
August 15/16: Short Roval (doubleheader; first race: 89 laps; second race: 100 laps)
August 23: Course D (92 laps)
August 30: Course A (83 laps)
September 6: Long internal road course (220 miles)
September 12: Bullring (300 laps)
Round One
September 19: Speedway (350 miles)
September 27: Long internal road course (220 miles)
October 3: Bullring (350 laps)
Semifinals
October 11: Short internal road course (250 laps)
October 18: Speedway (400 miles)
October 24: Bullring (400 laps)
Championship Race
November 8: Speedway (500 miles)
How would the playoffs work? Still take the top 16 drivers but cut the field in half after round one, with the top eight advancing after the 350-lap Bullring race and after the penultimate race have the final four advance to the championship race.
Time is ticking and whatever the remainder of the 2020 NASCAR season looks like it will be different than originally planned, whether that be fewer races, shorter races or format changes to limit the number of crew members at the track. It is best to be prepared for anything.
The sheer number of events needed makes a centralized NASCAR championship difficult to formulate. Add to it the variety of tracks NASCAR visits. What venue fulfills the requirements of short track, intermediate oval, superspeedway, road course, high-speed and low-speed, night and day races? Let's not forget teams specialize cars for certain tracks.
Sacrifice will be necessary for any centralized championship. Something is going to lose out.
Florida has raised its hand and deemed NASCAR essential but this is a thanks but no thanks situation.
Similar to IndyCar, NASCAR has a natural option in Charlotte. Ninety-nine percent of the teams are located in the area. It has a 1.5-mile oval and that doubles as the roval. It can run day and night races. Costs would be controlled. It makes sense on paper but it lacks a lot. Charlotte's oval has not been beloved for sometime and while the roval attracted praise it is still in the honeymoon phase. It is not as great as it has been made out to be and any slight alterations to the course are not going to be improvements.
There is one place currently on the NASCAR schedule offering an intermediate oval, road course, roval layouts and short track option. It requires some travel and it will require races in the heat but it could host ten different layouts and could easily give you 20 races.
How does Las Vegas sound?
Diversity of options does not spring to mind when thinking of Las Vegas Motor Speedway but the facility as a whole could give you two-and-a-half months of different racetrack configurations before you would have to repeat one.
The obvious option is the 1.5-mile oval, which hosts two Cup races but Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted the SRO GT World Challenge America series last year on a roval course. Inside the 1.5-mile oval is a road course with two usable configurations.
Options live outside the speedway itself with an external road course, which includes a 2.4-mile layout and let's not forget the Bullring, smaller than what the Cup series is used to be good enough to be a short-track option.
While the 1.5-mile oval and Bullring are known facilities in NASCAR circles, the roval options and road courses will need a little explaining.
GT World Challenge America competed on a 2.512-mile road course layout that utilized a large section of the oval course. The problem with that layout is it included a chicane on the front straightaway with the cars turning onto the quarter-mile oval before making a right turn onto pit lane and then proceeding back to the oval. This layout would not be suitable to NASCAR because NASCAR needs that part of the pit lane but the rest of the course works.
Two roval layouts exists, a long version at 2.555 miles and a shorter 2.24-mile circuit.
 |
| Long Roval |
 |
| Short Roval |
 |
| Full Infield Road Course |
 |
| Oval-ish |
Moving outside the track, there are four options for the external road course. The first is the 2.4-mile full course.
 |
| Full Course |
 |
| "Course B" - A little off the top |
 |
| Course C: 1.74 miles |
 |
| Course D: 2.17 miles |
There are ten options, the eight above, the 1.5-mile oval and the bullring. There are already four races completed for the 2020 season. The goal should be to fill out a 24-race season and perhaps even get a playoff in.
How do you breakdown those 20 races?
External road course: One race per layout
Short infield road course: Two races
Long infield road course: Two races
Short Roval: Two races
Long Roval: Two races
Bullring: Four races
Speedway: Four races
Weather makes Las Vegas difficult. We are talking about filling June through November. It is going to be hot, days are going to get longer and the time difference makes night races impractical. It would be more likely to see morning races in Las Vegas than night races until we get closer to autumn.
What could this schedule look like?
Regular Season
June 21: Speedway (300 miles)
June 28: Short internal road course (225 laps)
July 4: Bullring (300 laps)
July 18/19: Long Roval (doubleheader; first race: 78 laps, second race: 88 laps)
August 2: Course B (100 laps)
August 9: Course C (115 laps)
August 15/16: Short Roval (doubleheader; first race: 89 laps; second race: 100 laps)
August 23: Course D (92 laps)
August 30: Course A (83 laps)
September 6: Long internal road course (220 miles)
September 12: Bullring (300 laps)
Round One
September 19: Speedway (350 miles)
September 27: Long internal road course (220 miles)
October 3: Bullring (350 laps)
Semifinals
October 11: Short internal road course (250 laps)
October 18: Speedway (400 miles)
October 24: Bullring (400 laps)
Championship Race
November 8: Speedway (500 miles)
How would the playoffs work? Still take the top 16 drivers but cut the field in half after round one, with the top eight advancing after the 350-lap Bullring race and after the penultimate race have the final four advance to the championship race.
Time is ticking and whatever the remainder of the 2020 NASCAR season looks like it will be different than originally planned, whether that be fewer races, shorter races or format changes to limit the number of crew members at the track. It is best to be prepared for anything.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Where Could Formula One Race?
We started the week looking at where IndyCar could run a centralized championship in wake of the covid-19 outbreak. This centralized approach to sports is being explore in multiple countries for multiple sports leagues, from the NHL in North America to the Premier League in England. We will continue this three-part motorsports series with Formula One.
The best option might be one that was not even on the 2020 Formula One calendar.
While Silverstone proposed hosting multiple races on multiple configurations and even suggested running races in reverse direction. There are logistical issues, especially reverse direction where runoff and barriers are not up to safety standards for that course but public health is the greatest barrier to any event taking place.
Wherever races take place that country has to have the virus under control. The races would still likely be behind closed doors but the events cannot stress the public health system and take away resources from treating those with the virus.
Silverstone was the first to raise its hand to host multiple events. With the number of teams based in England it would require the least amount of travel and cost less for the teams but conditions remain rough in the United Kingdom.
One country where things are looking up is Germany. Surprise!
The Bundesliga eyes restarting its 2019-20 season on May 9 with remaining games taking place behind closed doors. Germany has been advanced on testing and it has enough venues to choose from for Formula One. The ironic part is Germany was not on the 2020 Formula One schedule.
The Nürburgring tops the list of possible venues because it is up to FIA Grade 1 circuit standards and it has multiple layouts.
There is the grand prix layout, the 3.199-mile circuit that began hosting races in 2002 and last hosted Formula One in 2013.
There is the pre-2002 grand prix layout, a 2.831-mile circuit with a right-left chicane at the end of the main straightaway instead of the arena section.
There is the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters layout, 2.255 miles in length with 11 corners that includes the arena section.
There is the shorter sprint layout, which is the DTM circuit, minus the arena section, cutting the circuit length to 1.9 miles.
All four of those layouts can be combined with the Nördschleife and that would give you track lengths of 16.123 miles, 15.769 miles, 15.183 miles and 14.829 miles.
The Nördschleife inclusion would be over the top. As desperate as Formula One is for races and as exhilarating seeing Formula One cars whiz through Flugplatz, dash through Fuchsröhe and dance around the Karussell it is not going to happen. Four events at one track is a pretty good haul but the minimum number of races necessary for a world championship is eight. As easy as it would be to run each Nürburgring layout twice that is boring. We need more variety.
Hockenheim hosted a race last year and it would be a natural landing spot but Hockenheim is boring. It has one decent layout. There is a national circuit option, which DTM used before, but the only difference is it turns off in the middle of the parabolika and doesn't use the hairpin, not that exciting. Perhaps an alteration could be made that sees the cars bypass the arena section and create a straightaway from the hairpin to the right-hand turn entering the stadium section. That circuit would be about 2.7 miles in length but that's it for Hockenheim and the remaining rounds will have to take place elsewhere.
Though Formula One has never been to EuroSpeedway Lausitz, the venue has a few different configurations. The oval is off the table but the grand prix circuit is 2.7 miles in length and previously hosted A1GP. We were supposed to see an 18-degree banked final corder at Zandvoort but a 5.7-degree first turn can be arranged at Lausitz. Using oval turn one with the grand prix circuit extends the track to 2.817 miles. DTM utilized a short course at Lausitz for a handful of years measured at 2.161 miles in length. Including oval turn one in the short course has a length of 2.12 miles.
Ten races, all based in Germany, would be a suitable schedule for Formula One all things considered. Let's aim for a July start and at Hockenheim on July 12 on the grand prix circuit with the second round on July 19 on the altered circuit.
From there the series can head east to Lausitz for its first round on the DTM short course on August 2 with the oval turn short course following on August 9. The teams can get a week off before moving to the grand prix circuit on August 23 with the oval turn one grand prix circuit the following week on August 30.
The season concludes at the Nürburgring but the teams will get two weeks off because the track is busy the first two weekends of September. GT World Challenge Europe will be there on September 6 and DTM will be there on September 13. Formula One can hit the DTM circuit on September 20 with the shorter sprint layout hosting a round on September 27.
On October 11, the pre-2002 grand prix layout hosts the penultimate round with the season closing on the full grand prix layout on October 18.
It will cost a little bit of money and it will be tougher on some teams more than others. The teams would have to stay in Germany, which is great for Mercedes though it is based in Brackley, but difficult for majority of the teams. It will require teams to be secluded from their homes and families for the better part of four months. Truth be told wherever a centralized championship is held will be inconvenient to at least one team. If it is England, a lot of teams benefit but Ferrari, AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo lose out. If it is in Germany, on paper, no teams would be working out of its actual factory. Every team would be at an equal disadvantage, though advantage Mercedes through home soil. Wherever the races take place someone was bound to have a slight advantage.
This could be the best shot Formula One has at a season. Ten races, enough for a championship, a season ending in the middle of October like once was usual and a four-and-a-half month offseason before we can resume the uncertainty in 2021.
The best option might be one that was not even on the 2020 Formula One calendar.
While Silverstone proposed hosting multiple races on multiple configurations and even suggested running races in reverse direction. There are logistical issues, especially reverse direction where runoff and barriers are not up to safety standards for that course but public health is the greatest barrier to any event taking place.
Wherever races take place that country has to have the virus under control. The races would still likely be behind closed doors but the events cannot stress the public health system and take away resources from treating those with the virus.
Silverstone was the first to raise its hand to host multiple events. With the number of teams based in England it would require the least amount of travel and cost less for the teams but conditions remain rough in the United Kingdom.
One country where things are looking up is Germany. Surprise!
The Bundesliga eyes restarting its 2019-20 season on May 9 with remaining games taking place behind closed doors. Germany has been advanced on testing and it has enough venues to choose from for Formula One. The ironic part is Germany was not on the 2020 Formula One schedule.
The Nürburgring tops the list of possible venues because it is up to FIA Grade 1 circuit standards and it has multiple layouts.
There is the grand prix layout, the 3.199-mile circuit that began hosting races in 2002 and last hosted Formula One in 2013.
There is the pre-2002 grand prix layout, a 2.831-mile circuit with a right-left chicane at the end of the main straightaway instead of the arena section.
There is the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters layout, 2.255 miles in length with 11 corners that includes the arena section.
There is the shorter sprint layout, which is the DTM circuit, minus the arena section, cutting the circuit length to 1.9 miles.
All four of those layouts can be combined with the Nördschleife and that would give you track lengths of 16.123 miles, 15.769 miles, 15.183 miles and 14.829 miles.
The Nördschleife inclusion would be over the top. As desperate as Formula One is for races and as exhilarating seeing Formula One cars whiz through Flugplatz, dash through Fuchsröhe and dance around the Karussell it is not going to happen. Four events at one track is a pretty good haul but the minimum number of races necessary for a world championship is eight. As easy as it would be to run each Nürburgring layout twice that is boring. We need more variety.
Hockenheim hosted a race last year and it would be a natural landing spot but Hockenheim is boring. It has one decent layout. There is a national circuit option, which DTM used before, but the only difference is it turns off in the middle of the parabolika and doesn't use the hairpin, not that exciting. Perhaps an alteration could be made that sees the cars bypass the arena section and create a straightaway from the hairpin to the right-hand turn entering the stadium section. That circuit would be about 2.7 miles in length but that's it for Hockenheim and the remaining rounds will have to take place elsewhere.
Though Formula One has never been to EuroSpeedway Lausitz, the venue has a few different configurations. The oval is off the table but the grand prix circuit is 2.7 miles in length and previously hosted A1GP. We were supposed to see an 18-degree banked final corder at Zandvoort but a 5.7-degree first turn can be arranged at Lausitz. Using oval turn one with the grand prix circuit extends the track to 2.817 miles. DTM utilized a short course at Lausitz for a handful of years measured at 2.161 miles in length. Including oval turn one in the short course has a length of 2.12 miles.
Ten races, all based in Germany, would be a suitable schedule for Formula One all things considered. Let's aim for a July start and at Hockenheim on July 12 on the grand prix circuit with the second round on July 19 on the altered circuit.
From there the series can head east to Lausitz for its first round on the DTM short course on August 2 with the oval turn short course following on August 9. The teams can get a week off before moving to the grand prix circuit on August 23 with the oval turn one grand prix circuit the following week on August 30.
The season concludes at the Nürburgring but the teams will get two weeks off because the track is busy the first two weekends of September. GT World Challenge Europe will be there on September 6 and DTM will be there on September 13. Formula One can hit the DTM circuit on September 20 with the shorter sprint layout hosting a round on September 27.
On October 11, the pre-2002 grand prix layout hosts the penultimate round with the season closing on the full grand prix layout on October 18.
It will cost a little bit of money and it will be tougher on some teams more than others. The teams would have to stay in Germany, which is great for Mercedes though it is based in Brackley, but difficult for majority of the teams. It will require teams to be secluded from their homes and families for the better part of four months. Truth be told wherever a centralized championship is held will be inconvenient to at least one team. If it is England, a lot of teams benefit but Ferrari, AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo lose out. If it is in Germany, on paper, no teams would be working out of its actual factory. Every team would be at an equal disadvantage, though advantage Mercedes through home soil. Wherever the races take place someone was bound to have a slight advantage.
This could be the best shot Formula One has at a season. Ten races, enough for a championship, a season ending in the middle of October like once was usual and a four-and-a-half month offseason before we can resume the uncertainty in 2021.
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