1. If we have learned anything from tonight at Iowa and Texas last month, when there is a late caution on an oval, get tires. Ryan Hunter-Reay and his team made a great call to get tires after Juan Pablo Montoya had an accident with 18 laps to go. It was enough for Hunter-Reay to charge in and spoil the party that was a dominating night for Ganassi and Chevrolet. Andretti Autosport's fifth consecutive Iowa victory, their seventh consecutive short track victory and eighth short track victory in the last nine short track events.
2. Josef Newgarden is turning it around. After poor result after poor result, back-to-back weeks of working strategy to perfection for Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and got them a podium tonight. If only he could get a senior teammate or have Penske or Ganassi or Andretti pay Sarah Fisher top dollar for him. He has all the skills to win in IndyCar, just needs a little more behind him.
3. Tony Kanaan had a great night but was caught out on tires. Had the caution been three laps longer, he is on the top step of the podium and Hunter-Reay and Newgarden settle for top fives. Kanaan has been knocking on the door but just can't seem to get into victory lane.
4. Scott Dixon solidified Ganassi's dominance tonight. He and Kanaan qualified 1-2 and Dixon was up in the top five all night but just like Kanaan was caught out on older tires. He swept the Toronto doubleheader last year and I am sure he is glad it's the next stop on the IndyCar schedule.
5. Ed Carpenter survived the slaughter that was Hunter-Reay and Newgarden carving their way to the front to come home fifth. He might have to watch out for Montoya after it appeared Carpenter chopped the Colombian, ending his night.
6. James Hinchcliffe was another to survive the slaughter and come home sixth. It is the first time all year Hinchcliffe has finished better than his starting position. The Canadian gained eight positions from his starting position and he heads home to Toronto with something to be proud of.
7. Graham Rahal took new tires and came home seventh. He was on the cusp of the top ten all night as Chevrolet had the upper hand all night. The Target duo, Penske trio, Ryan Briscoe and Robin Hood that is Ed Carpenter were the top seven all night with the Hondas languishing back. It was not a good night as a whole for Honda and they might want to go to the drawing board before Milwaukee next month.
8. Hélio Castroneves exits Iowa with the points lead but not before being carved up. What could have been a podium is barely a top ten. He leads by nine points over Will Power but if Castroneves learned anything from last year, top tens aren't enough for a championship. He is going to need to get wins and podiums if he wants to become champion.
9. Ryan Briscoe was up front all night but like Castroneves, was a dead man walking on old tires. He had a much better night than his ninth place finish will show. Hopefully he can keep it up as the summer goes on.
10. Charlie Kimball benefited from the late stop for tires and salvaged a top ten. He fell back early in the race after a rare top ten start in seventh. Despite having a win and possible 1-2 slip out of Ganassi's grips, putting four cars in the top ten isn't a bad way to end a race.
11. Simon Pagenaud got tires late, as did Carlos Muñoz but neither were able to work the magic spell that Hunter-Reay and Newgarden put on the field. They finished eleventh and twelfth.
12. Justin Wilson was never a factor in this race and came home thirteenth. It could have been much worse but he brought home the car in one piece and some nights that is all you can do.
13. If Castroneves was carved up on that final stint, Will Power was minced into fine microscopic buts. He was fourth and fell to fourteenth after Hunter-Reay pace forced the Australian into the marbles and nearly the wall. This championship is starting to slip from him again.
14. Jack Hawksworth returns with a bruised heart muscle and finishes fifteenth. He may have finished four laps down but this was the type of night Hawksworth needed after the shunt he suffered at Pocono.
15. Juan Pablo Montoya had a great car for naught. He recovered from a rear wing delaminating to be in contention. Montoya could still be in the championship picture but he will need to keep up the results on the road courses.
16. Sebastián Saavedra had the best drive of his career in his 50th career start but in Sebastián Saavedra style put it in the wall. He was passing Montoya and Power and Briscoe and Castroneves and Dixon and was up to second catching Kanaan. But there is a reason Saavedra has finished on the lead lap only 15 times in his career and only once on an oval (this year's Indianapolis 500 in case you are wondering). He hasn't found the ability to stay focused for a whole IndyCar race. He mastered the sprints that are Indy Lights races but still hasn't been able to do it in the big time. You have to wonder after 50 starts if he ever will.
17. Marco Andretti's engine failure appeared to be the cherry on top the crap night for Honda when Chevrolet held the top seven positions. Of course Hunter-Reay and Newgarden turned that around but Andretti Autosport had another good night for one of their cars end in a mechanical failure. Ganassi and Penske don't seem to have these problem and neither does Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports. Andretti Autosport's shaky reliability could cost them from staying in the championship picture.
18. IndyCar was able to get a great finish in but I would like the series to make a decision on red flagging races late. They can't just pull it out willy-nilly for the Indianapolis 500 and the final race of the year when the championship is on the line. They have to chisel in stone a rule saying when and when not it can be used. I said after Indianapolis the rule should be between 5 and 15 laps to go, the lead race official may use a red flag once to clean up an accident. I thought it should have been used tonight, especially because of how quick even caution laps are at Iowa. IndyCar has to make this rule and not use it when it is most convenient.
19. On to Toronto. The final doubleheader and final street course of 2014.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Morning Warm-Up: Iowa 2014
Scott Dixon will lead the field to the green flag for tonight's Iowa Corn Indy 300. It is Dixon's twenty-first career pole position. Dixon's best career finish at Iowa is fourth on two occasions. Tony Kanaan joins his Ganassi teammate on row one. Besides Andretti Autosport, the only other team to win at Iowa is Ganassi and the #10 car has rolled into victory lane on both occasions. Kanaan is looking for his fifth consecutive Iowa podium.
Hélio Castroneves rolls off in third next to his former Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe. Castroneves and Team Penske are looking for their first victory at Iowa. Briscoe is looking for consecutive top five finishes. The Australian finished fourth last week at Pocono. Carlos Muñoz rounds out the top five. Muñoz finished seventh and eighth in his two Indy Lights starts at Iowa but one both occasions he finished a lap down. Joining Muñoz on row three will be Sébastien Bourdais. This will be the Frenchman's second career start at Iowa. He finished fourteenth last year.
Charlie Kimball starts seventh, it is first top ten start of the season. His previous best was Houston 1. Marco Andretti starts eighth. He has finished on the podium at Iowa in four of seven starts at the track. Will Power starts ninth. The last three year's Power has finished outside the top fifteen at Iowa. Ed Carpenter rounds out the top ten. Carpenter scored his first career Iowa top five last year.
Row six features Simon Pagenaud and Mikhail Aleshin. The Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports teammates started eleventh and twelfth last week at Pocono and both finished in the top ten. Ryan Hunter-Reay starts thirteenth. He has back-to-back Iowa podiums. James Hinchcliffe starts fourteenth. Hinchcliffe has yet to finish better than his starting position in 2014, losing on average 7.727 positions during a race. Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato start on row eight. Rahal normally finds away to the front at Iowa, with an average starting position of 14.714 at Iowa but an average finish of 9.833 at the track. Sato is looking for his first career top ten at Iowa. His best Iowa finish is twelfth.
Sebastián Saavedra starts seventeenth. He won the Indy Lights race at Iowa in 2010. Justin Wilson joins him on row nine. Wilson's average finish at Iowa is 14.5 in six starts. Juan Pablo Montoya qualified nineteenth. His lone appearance at Iowa was the inaugural ARCA race in 2006. He started third but finished twenty-fourth, 42 laps down after an accident. Jack Hawksworth rounds out the top twenty after missing Pocono last week due to injury. The final row will be Josef Newgarden and Carlos Huertas. This is Newgarden's second consecutive race starting twenty-first. He finished eighth last week at Pocono. This is Huertas' first start at Iowa.
NBCSN's coverage of the Iowa Corn Indy 300 begins at 8:00 p.m. ET with green flag at 8:50 p.m. ET.
Hélio Castroneves rolls off in third next to his former Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe. Castroneves and Team Penske are looking for their first victory at Iowa. Briscoe is looking for consecutive top five finishes. The Australian finished fourth last week at Pocono. Carlos Muñoz rounds out the top five. Muñoz finished seventh and eighth in his two Indy Lights starts at Iowa but one both occasions he finished a lap down. Joining Muñoz on row three will be Sébastien Bourdais. This will be the Frenchman's second career start at Iowa. He finished fourteenth last year.
Charlie Kimball starts seventh, it is first top ten start of the season. His previous best was Houston 1. Marco Andretti starts eighth. He has finished on the podium at Iowa in four of seven starts at the track. Will Power starts ninth. The last three year's Power has finished outside the top fifteen at Iowa. Ed Carpenter rounds out the top ten. Carpenter scored his first career Iowa top five last year.
Row six features Simon Pagenaud and Mikhail Aleshin. The Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports teammates started eleventh and twelfth last week at Pocono and both finished in the top ten. Ryan Hunter-Reay starts thirteenth. He has back-to-back Iowa podiums. James Hinchcliffe starts fourteenth. Hinchcliffe has yet to finish better than his starting position in 2014, losing on average 7.727 positions during a race. Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato start on row eight. Rahal normally finds away to the front at Iowa, with an average starting position of 14.714 at Iowa but an average finish of 9.833 at the track. Sato is looking for his first career top ten at Iowa. His best Iowa finish is twelfth.
Sebastián Saavedra starts seventeenth. He won the Indy Lights race at Iowa in 2010. Justin Wilson joins him on row nine. Wilson's average finish at Iowa is 14.5 in six starts. Juan Pablo Montoya qualified nineteenth. His lone appearance at Iowa was the inaugural ARCA race in 2006. He started third but finished twenty-fourth, 42 laps down after an accident. Jack Hawksworth rounds out the top twenty after missing Pocono last week due to injury. The final row will be Josef Newgarden and Carlos Huertas. This is Newgarden's second consecutive race starting twenty-first. He finished eighth last week at Pocono. This is Huertas' first start at Iowa.
NBCSN's coverage of the Iowa Corn Indy 300 begins at 8:00 p.m. ET with green flag at 8:50 p.m. ET.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Dixon Leads Ganassi 1-2 in Iowa Qualifying
 |
| Scott Dixon won pole at Iowa, his first of 2014. |
Carlos Muñoz was the fastest Honda in qualifying for the second consecutive week and rounded out the top five at 184.968 MPH. Sébastien Bourdais qualified sixth with Charlie Kimball making it six Chevrolets in the top seven. Marco Andretti was eighth fastest, joining his teammate Muñoz as the lone Hondas in the top ten. Will Power and Ed Carpenter qualified ninth and tenth.
Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsport teammates Simon Pagenaud and Mikhail Aleshin qualified eleventh and twelfth for the second consecutive week and lead three consecutive rows of Hondas. The Andretti Autosport teammates and last two Iowa winners Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe qualified thirteenth and fourteenth at 183.747 MPH and 183.348 MPH with Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato fifteenth and sixteenth fastest at 183.201 MPH and 183.089 MPH.
Sebastián Saavedra was 0.006 MPH slower than Sato in seventeenth. Justin Wilson was eighteenth with the most recent winner in the Verizon IndyCar Series Juan Pablo Montoya nineteenth, the slowest Chevrolet at 182.317 MPH. Jack Hawksworth returns after missing Pocono in twentieth with Josef Newgarden and Carlos Huertas rounding out the field. Huertas was the slowest at 177.849 MPH.
Coverage for tomorrow's Iowa Corn Indy 300 begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN with green flag scheduled for 8:50 p.m. ET.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Track Walk: Iowa 2014
 |
| Twenty-Two drivers are entered for the 8th Iowa Corn Indy 300 |
Coverage
Time: Coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. ET Saturday July 12th. Green flag is at 8:50 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: NBCSN
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Paul Tracy, David Hobbs (Townsend Bell is at Mosport for IMSA competition), Kevin Lee, Kelli Stavast, Jon Beekhuis and Robin Miller.
Can Andretti Autosport Make It Five Consecutive?
Michael Andretti's team has won four consecutive and five of seven Iowa Corn Indy 300s, each won by a different driver. Dario Franchitti won the inaugural Iowa race in 2007. Tony Kanaan won in 2010 after three consecutive DNFs at Iowa. Marco Andretti won under the lights in 2011. It was Marco's first victory since Sonoma 2006, 77 starts prior. Ryan Hunter-Reay's victory in 2012 was the middle leg of a three race winning streak for the American on his way to the 2012 championship. James Hinchcliffe won last year. It was the Canadians third of the season and first career oval victory.
Hunter-Reay has five top tens in six Iowa starts despite his average starting position at Iowa being 11.666. Andretti has five top tens in seven Iowa starts and has started in the top ten five times. Hinchcliffe's next best Iowa finish is ninth in three starts on the 0.875 mile oval. The Canadian's average starting position on the short track is 4.333.
Carlos Muñoz is making his first career IndyCar start at Iowa. In two Indy Lights starts, the Colombian finish seventh and eighth. Muñoz is sixth in the championship, directly behind his teammate Hunter-Reay and has three podiums finishes this year including Pocono last Sunday. Muñoz had yet to lead a lap in 2014. A rookie has not won an oval race since Sébastien Bourdais at Lausitzring 2003. The last rookie to win an American oval race was Tomas Scheckter at Michigan in 2002.
Andretti Autosport has dominated short tracks, winning the last six short track races and seven of the last eight but the team needs a slight turn around. Hunter-Reay and Andretti both have yet to score top five finishes since finishing first and third respectively in the Indianapolis 500. Hinchcliffe has yet to finish a race in a position better than he started. The Canadian loses on average 7.727 positions from his spot on the grid each race.
Penske's Kryptonite
Iowa hasn't been Team Penske's best friend. Hélio Castroneves may have six top tens in seven starts at Iowa but The Captain's team has yet to step foot into victory lane. Castroneves has one podium (a second to Kanaan) in 2010 and Ryan Briscoe finished second in 2009 when apart of the team. Will Power has been behind the Iowa 8-ball. He has two top tens in five starts at Iowa but has finished twenty-first, twenty-third and seventeenth in his last three Iowa races, two of which were DNFs. Sam Hornish, Jr. had a DNF in 2007, his lone Iowa start. Juan Pablo Montoya has one appearance at Iowa and that came in the inaugural ARCA race at the track in 2006. Montoya finished 24th that day, competing 208 of 250 laps after an accident.
Past Iowa Performances
Tony Kanaan has put his past Iowa disappointments behind him. After three DNFs in his first three Iowa starts, Kanaan has four consecutive Iowa podium finishes.
Scott Dixon had six consecutive top tens at Iowa until his sixteenth place finish last year. Dixon started the first two Iowa races from pole position.
Graham Rahal has four top tens in six Iowa starts including his first career top five at Iowa last year, a fifth place finish. Rahal average starting position at Iowa is 14.666.
Simon Pagenaud has finished fifth and sixth in his two previous Iowa starts. He came from 25th to finish fifth in 2012.
Ed Carpenter scored his first career top five at Iowa last year, a fourth. He has two other top tens at the track.
Takuma Sato's best finish in four Iowa start is twelfth. His other three races have ended in nineteenth, nineteenth and twenty-third.
Justin Wilson has one top ten at Iowa in six appearances.
Charlie Kimball has yet to break the top ten in Iowa with his best finish being eleventh in 2012.
Fun Facts
There have been four IndyCar races on July 12th. The winner of each July 12th race won the championship that year. The drivers to win on July 12th are Mario Andretti at Nazareth in 1969, Alex Zanardi at Cleveland in 1998, Scott Dixon at Nashville in 2008 and Dario Franchitti at Toronto in 2009.
Scott Dixon needs to lead 246 laps to become the eighth driver to reach the 4,500 laps led club.
Juan Pablo Montoya needs to lead 152 laps to become the twenty-third driver to join the 2,000 laps led club.
Ryan Briscoe needs to lead 65 laps to become the twenty-seventh driver to join the 1,500 laps led club.
Should he take the green flag on Saturday night, Sebastián Saavedra will be making his 50th career IndyCar start.
For more fun facts check out the Telemetry Center.
Predictions
Carlos Muñoz wins. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan round out the podium. Charlie Kimball qualifies on one of the back three rows but makes up at least five positions in the race. James Hinchcliffe finishes better than his starting position for the first time in 2014. Josef Newgarden picks up his second consecutive top ten finish. Mikhail Aleshin finishes ahead of Simon Pagenaud. Sleeper: Graham Rahal.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Figuring Out the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Schedule
I hate schedule talk because it is mostly pure, uninformed speculation and in the world of IndyCar, yearning for returns to Road America, Michigan, Cleveland, Laguna Seca, Portland, Phoenix, Richmond, Loudon and a debut at Austin. Every now and then you have to think out loud and figure out what could happen for the best, especially as Houston is stuck in June, Pocono is clinging on by their fingernails and international races appear to be on the horizon.
Let's start with what we know:
IndyCar announced St. Petersburg would return and run March 27-29, 2015.
Long Beach is set for April 17-19, 2015.
Indianapolis Star's Curt Cavin reported the Grand Prix of Indianapolis will be May 10, 2015, which is Mother's Day. This year the race was the Saturday prior to Mother's Day. I have a feeling it will still be that Saturday and it was a minor error.
Indianapolis 500 will be May 24th.
The Belle Isle doubleheader will be the weekend after the Indianapolis 500, May 30th and 31st.
Toronto is looking for a new date as The Queen City will host the 2015 Pan American Games, July 10-25, 2015.
Then there is the chance of Dubai sometime in February and Brasilia happening on March 8, 2015.
Tentatively:
Sometime in February: Dubai
March 8: Brasilia (should track upgrades be made and the check come through).
March 15: Nothing
March 22: Nothing
March 29: St. Petersburg
April 5: Easter. Never race on Easter. See Las Vegas 2007.
April 12: Nothing.
April 19: Long Beach
April 26: Nothing.
May 3: Nothing.
May 9 or 10: Grand Prix of Indianapolis
May 16 & 17: Indianapolis 500 qualifying.
May 24: Indianapolis 500
May 30 & 31: Belle Isle
According to Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage on Twitter, he and Mark Miles shook hands on a deal for IndyCar to return in June 2015. Let's pencil that in for it's traditional Saturday night, almost a fortnight after the Indianapolis 500, June 6, 2015.
Now here is where pure, willy-nilly, flinging it at the wall takes over.
This year, IndyCar took two weeks off after Texas before heading to Houston. There is no reason why Houston is in June. They mind as well race on the surface of the sun that weekend. Houston can't run in March because of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Why not move Houston to the week before or after Long Beach? What would that mean for Barber? Put Barber the weekend not taken by Houston, simple as that. I would keep the Barber date consistent and run it the final weekend in April and slide Houston the week prior to Long Beach. Now sliding Houston the week before Long Beach would put it the week after the first NASCAR weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. I'm not sure if this would cause any problems but with the markets being so far apart, I don't think the back-to-back weekends would hurt either race.
What would moving Houston to April mean for June? I like the week off after Texas. It allows drivers to theoretically run the 24 Hours of Le Mans and gives the teams off after five races over five weeks. The following weekend is where Toronto could be slotted. It would be two weeks off after the Canadian Grand Prix which could cause some attendance issues. Maybe keep the two weeks off after Texas (especially if Formula One is running in New Jersey after Montreal) and have the Toronto doubleheader a week later in hopes to alleviate any schedule overcrowding. Either or could work.
After going to Pocono two consecutive year I have reached this conclusion: The race may have to move back a week for the best of the event. Of course that is if it returns, which it should. I think the traffic nightmare that is Interstate 80 on 4th of July weekend makes people less likely to attend. Move it back a week and you may avoid the problem. My only concern with Pocono is you have no wiggle room. NASCAR runs the first Sunday in June and first Sunday in August. The IndyCar weekend is perfectly, smack dap in the middle. You can only move it one week one way or the other.
Moving Pocono back would cause problems for Iowa, which is a IndyCar-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series doubleheader. If the track and the two sides want to keep the pairing together, moving back a week may be a bad idea. The Truck series runs Eldora twelve days after Iowa. Move it back a week and you give the teams five days to turn their Trucks around for the dirt. Don't get me wrong, the Truck series has short gaps (there are four days between Michigan and Bristol) but would they be willing to agree with the move? Bright side: Moving Iowa back a week would have it land on the traditional mid-summer NASCAR Cup Series off weekend. Win-win in my opinion.
With theoretically Pocono and Iowa shifting back a week, what would that mean for the 4th of July weekend? NASCAR's long tradition of the Firecracker 400 is surviving the test of time but IndyCar has yet to find it's Independence Day weekend hot spot. In the days of the IRL, Kansas was too hot (they moved that race to April and how did that work?). Watkins Glen seemed like a natural fit but it wasn't and not having sports cars left fans with little on-track action. Now Pocono struggles, according to track president Brandon Igdalsky. I believe IndyCar shouldn't take Independence Day weekend off. With the NASCAR race on Saturday night (barring rain as we saw this year), it leaves a wide open Sunday that IndyCar has to take advantage of.
But where to go Independence Day weekend? I'm not sure there are any races currently on the schedule that should move to that weekend. As my mind wanders I think Road America or Michigan would be a good ideas. Road America might not include IMSA though, which would be a great doubleheader but maybe IndyCar could make it their weekend with the three Mazda Road to Indy series in tow along with Pirelli World Challenge. Or another 500-miler at Michigan. Of course both options currently are things of fiction but let's leave it on the wall and think about it at a later date.
Keep the week off at the end of July and we are on to August, which appears to be staying the same. Mid-Ohio has been that first weekend of August for a while. Take the following week off as MotoGP heads to the Speedway and the Speedway never likes when an IndyCar event goes head-to-head with one of their events. On to Milwaukee for it's post Wisconsin State Fair weekend. Let's see how this year's race does as it is the first Milwaukee race in August since Tom Sneva won the Tony Bettenhausen 200 in 1982.
Unlike this year, 2015 will likely not feature three consecutive races to close out the season. Labor Day is September 7 and with the only remaining races being Sonoma and Fontana, an idle week will occur. I would suggest having an off week after Milwaukee, giving the teams a break before back-to-back California races to close out the season.
A hypothetical 2015 schedule at a glance:
Sometime in February: Dubai
March 8: Brasilia (should track upgrades be made and the check come through).
March 29: St. Petersburg
April 5: Easter. Never race on Easter. See Las Vegas 2007.
April 11 & 12: Houston
April 19: Long Beach
April 26: Barber
May 9 or 10: Grand Prix of Indianapolis
May 16 & 17: Indianapolis 500 qualifying
May 24: Indianapolis 500
May 30 & 31: Belle Isle
June 6: Texas
June 20 & 21 or June 27 & 28: Toronto
July 5: In a perfect world, either Road America or Michigan but we don't live in a perfect world now do we?
July 12: Pocono
July 18: Iowa
August 2: Mid-Ohio
August 16: Milwaukee
August 30: Sonoma
September 5: Fontana
I don't see New Orleans happening in 2015. Too many infrastructure upgrades needed and not enough time but maybe for 2016 as long as it isn't in June.
This wouldn't be an option for 2015 but I've been wondering if the season should open at Fontana, the Sunday after the Super Bowl. It would move the race to a much friendlier time of the year in terms of weather for spectators. A 500-miler would be a great way to kickoff the season. And if it were to transition to February, it would occur a little more than five months after running Labor Day weekend, plenty time between runnings and the race would occur six weeks before the NASCAR race, plenty of time between both events to coexist.
This is just the first of what will be close to a dozen 2015 schedule related posts. It's a summer traditional unlike any other.
Let's start with what we know:
IndyCar announced St. Petersburg would return and run March 27-29, 2015.
Long Beach is set for April 17-19, 2015.
Indianapolis Star's Curt Cavin reported the Grand Prix of Indianapolis will be May 10, 2015, which is Mother's Day. This year the race was the Saturday prior to Mother's Day. I have a feeling it will still be that Saturday and it was a minor error.
Indianapolis 500 will be May 24th.
The Belle Isle doubleheader will be the weekend after the Indianapolis 500, May 30th and 31st.
Toronto is looking for a new date as The Queen City will host the 2015 Pan American Games, July 10-25, 2015.
Then there is the chance of Dubai sometime in February and Brasilia happening on March 8, 2015.
Tentatively:
Sometime in February: Dubai
March 8: Brasilia (should track upgrades be made and the check come through).
March 15: Nothing
March 22: Nothing
March 29: St. Petersburg
April 5: Easter. Never race on Easter. See Las Vegas 2007.
April 12: Nothing.
April 19: Long Beach
April 26: Nothing.
May 3: Nothing.
May 9 or 10: Grand Prix of Indianapolis
May 16 & 17: Indianapolis 500 qualifying.
May 24: Indianapolis 500
May 30 & 31: Belle Isle
According to Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage on Twitter, he and Mark Miles shook hands on a deal for IndyCar to return in June 2015. Let's pencil that in for it's traditional Saturday night, almost a fortnight after the Indianapolis 500, June 6, 2015.
Now here is where pure, willy-nilly, flinging it at the wall takes over.
This year, IndyCar took two weeks off after Texas before heading to Houston. There is no reason why Houston is in June. They mind as well race on the surface of the sun that weekend. Houston can't run in March because of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Why not move Houston to the week before or after Long Beach? What would that mean for Barber? Put Barber the weekend not taken by Houston, simple as that. I would keep the Barber date consistent and run it the final weekend in April and slide Houston the week prior to Long Beach. Now sliding Houston the week before Long Beach would put it the week after the first NASCAR weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. I'm not sure if this would cause any problems but with the markets being so far apart, I don't think the back-to-back weekends would hurt either race.
What would moving Houston to April mean for June? I like the week off after Texas. It allows drivers to theoretically run the 24 Hours of Le Mans and gives the teams off after five races over five weeks. The following weekend is where Toronto could be slotted. It would be two weeks off after the Canadian Grand Prix which could cause some attendance issues. Maybe keep the two weeks off after Texas (especially if Formula One is running in New Jersey after Montreal) and have the Toronto doubleheader a week later in hopes to alleviate any schedule overcrowding. Either or could work.
After going to Pocono two consecutive year I have reached this conclusion: The race may have to move back a week for the best of the event. Of course that is if it returns, which it should. I think the traffic nightmare that is Interstate 80 on 4th of July weekend makes people less likely to attend. Move it back a week and you may avoid the problem. My only concern with Pocono is you have no wiggle room. NASCAR runs the first Sunday in June and first Sunday in August. The IndyCar weekend is perfectly, smack dap in the middle. You can only move it one week one way or the other.
Moving Pocono back would cause problems for Iowa, which is a IndyCar-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series doubleheader. If the track and the two sides want to keep the pairing together, moving back a week may be a bad idea. The Truck series runs Eldora twelve days after Iowa. Move it back a week and you give the teams five days to turn their Trucks around for the dirt. Don't get me wrong, the Truck series has short gaps (there are four days between Michigan and Bristol) but would they be willing to agree with the move? Bright side: Moving Iowa back a week would have it land on the traditional mid-summer NASCAR Cup Series off weekend. Win-win in my opinion.
With theoretically Pocono and Iowa shifting back a week, what would that mean for the 4th of July weekend? NASCAR's long tradition of the Firecracker 400 is surviving the test of time but IndyCar has yet to find it's Independence Day weekend hot spot. In the days of the IRL, Kansas was too hot (they moved that race to April and how did that work?). Watkins Glen seemed like a natural fit but it wasn't and not having sports cars left fans with little on-track action. Now Pocono struggles, according to track president Brandon Igdalsky. I believe IndyCar shouldn't take Independence Day weekend off. With the NASCAR race on Saturday night (barring rain as we saw this year), it leaves a wide open Sunday that IndyCar has to take advantage of.
But where to go Independence Day weekend? I'm not sure there are any races currently on the schedule that should move to that weekend. As my mind wanders I think Road America or Michigan would be a good ideas. Road America might not include IMSA though, which would be a great doubleheader but maybe IndyCar could make it their weekend with the three Mazda Road to Indy series in tow along with Pirelli World Challenge. Or another 500-miler at Michigan. Of course both options currently are things of fiction but let's leave it on the wall and think about it at a later date.
Keep the week off at the end of July and we are on to August, which appears to be staying the same. Mid-Ohio has been that first weekend of August for a while. Take the following week off as MotoGP heads to the Speedway and the Speedway never likes when an IndyCar event goes head-to-head with one of their events. On to Milwaukee for it's post Wisconsin State Fair weekend. Let's see how this year's race does as it is the first Milwaukee race in August since Tom Sneva won the Tony Bettenhausen 200 in 1982.
Unlike this year, 2015 will likely not feature three consecutive races to close out the season. Labor Day is September 7 and with the only remaining races being Sonoma and Fontana, an idle week will occur. I would suggest having an off week after Milwaukee, giving the teams a break before back-to-back California races to close out the season.
A hypothetical 2015 schedule at a glance:
Sometime in February: Dubai
March 8: Brasilia (should track upgrades be made and the check come through).
March 29: St. Petersburg
April 5: Easter. Never race on Easter. See Las Vegas 2007.
April 11 & 12: Houston
April 19: Long Beach
April 26: Barber
May 9 or 10: Grand Prix of Indianapolis
May 16 & 17: Indianapolis 500 qualifying
May 24: Indianapolis 500
May 30 & 31: Belle Isle
June 6: Texas
June 20 & 21 or June 27 & 28: Toronto
July 5: In a perfect world, either Road America or Michigan but we don't live in a perfect world now do we?
July 12: Pocono
July 18: Iowa
August 2: Mid-Ohio
August 16: Milwaukee
August 30: Sonoma
September 5: Fontana
I don't see New Orleans happening in 2015. Too many infrastructure upgrades needed and not enough time but maybe for 2016 as long as it isn't in June.
This wouldn't be an option for 2015 but I've been wondering if the season should open at Fontana, the Sunday after the Super Bowl. It would move the race to a much friendlier time of the year in terms of weather for spectators. A 500-miler would be a great way to kickoff the season. And if it were to transition to February, it would occur a little more than five months after running Labor Day weekend, plenty time between runnings and the race would occur six weeks before the NASCAR race, plenty of time between both events to coexist.
This is just the first of what will be close to a dozen 2015 schedule related posts. It's a summer traditional unlike any other.
Monday, July 7, 2014
Musings From the Weekend: Is Montoya the Greatest of this Generation?
From sun baked Pocono to the slippery high banks of Daytona and the historic grounds of Silverstone, the weekend left with a lot on the mind. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
Is Juan Pablo Montoya the Greatest of this Generation?
The Colombian went 5040 days between IndyCar victories. In that interim, Montoya won seven grand prix, thirteen poles, thirty podiums and scored twelve fastest laps in Formula One driving for Williams and McLaren, going toe-to-toe with Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso.
He made a bold switch to NASCAR in the middle of 2006, won two Cup races, one Nationwide race, had 24 Cup top fives, 59 Cup top tens, nine Cup pole positions and finished eighth in the Cup series in 2009.
Let's not forget Montoya is a three-time winner of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Only Hurley Haywood, Scott Pruett, Peter Gregg, Pedro Rodríguez, Rolf Stommelen and Bob Wollek have more and he is tied with Derek Bell, Butch Leitzinger, Brian Redman, Memo Rojas and Andy Wallace at three.
If he was from Columbia, South Carolina or Columbia, Missouri and his name was Jack Moore, he would be hailed as this generations A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti or Dan Gurney. Montoya has done what we all wish this generation of drivers would do: Branch out. Run everything and anything. Not let the modern world of ironclad contracts get in the way of being a race car driver.
If you take the last twenty years, name me a driver who has accomplished more over the variety of disciplines Montoya has? While he has never dominated a series like Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel have in Formula One, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in NASCAR or Sébastien Loeb in World Rally, Montoya has found success going out of series that become comfort zones. He is ruthless in whatever he drives. He doesn't care who his competitors are of what they have done before, he races everyone to the limit in whatever he gets in.
Montoya might not always have had the best attitude but when it comes to talent, he should not be over looked.
The Colombian Contingent
Awful lot of Colombian fans at Pocono yesterday and I thought it was fantastic. There are four Colombians on the grid, it's about time IndyCar started marketing them to the Latino community. Not to forget mentioning Gabby Chaves who leads the Indy Lights championship by 15 points over Zach Veach and won on Saturday at Pocono.
What Are You Thinking United Kingdom?
I would love to get to the United Kingdom one day but did you see the sports weekend they had scheduled? The British Grand Prix, Wimbledon Championships Gentleman's Final and the second day of the Tour de France from York to Sheffield (hometown of Justin and Stefan Wilson) all took place yesterday.
For comparison, imagine some ridiculous world where the Indianapolis 500, MLB All-Star Game and game seven of the NBA Finals all took place at noon on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. I understand not everyone can make their schedules so there is no overlap. It's bound to happen but the British Grand Prix and final day of Wimbledon should never fall on the same day. Not to mention the middle Sunday at Wimbledon is a rest day and would have been a better day for the British Grand Prix in my opinion. Especially with Lewis Hamilton winning and Jenson Button battling for a podium, Formula One should make sure that race is the only thing on the British sports radar for the weekend.
Good For You Aric Almirola
It was nice to see Aric Almirola get the Cup win at Daytona. He is a Florida kid, he got the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford to victory lane for the first time since John Andretti won at Martinsville in April 1999 and now he is in Chase. Don't get me wrong, I still despise the Chase format and I expect Almirola to run three average races and be eliminated early in the ridiculous format NASCAR has pulled out of their backside.
I always wonder what might have been for Almirola. In 2007, he was a Joe Gibbs Racing development drivers and was running a handful of Busch Series races. He won pole position at Milwaukee while being a stand-by driver for Denny Hamlin who was scheduled to race the car and was on his way from Sonoma. When it came time for the race to start, Hamlin wasn't there and Almirola started from pole and led the first 43 laps. A caution came out and Hamlin was ready to go, forcing Almirola from the car. He had the right to be angry with the decision and while Hamlin did go on to win and Almirola does get credit for the victory because he started the race, he asked for a release after the incident and it was given to him.
If only Almirola was given sometime to develop with a top team like Gibbs. He might have been shown the door anyway as the team was always focused on developing Joey Logano and hired Kyle Busch but I wonder if Almirola was just given the chance to finish that race.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Juan Pablo Montoya, Aric Almirola, Lewis Hamilton and Gabby Chaves but did you know...
René Rast and Enzo Ide won the Blancpain Sprint Series race at Zandvoort.
Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea split the World Superbike weekend at Portimão. Michael van der Mark won the Supersport race with American Patrick Jacobsen finishing fifth.
Jamie Whincup bookended the Townsville weekend with Garth Tander winning the second Saturday race.
Kasey Kahne won the Nationwide Series race at Daytona.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar is under the lights at Iowa.
NASCAR goes head-to-head with the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final at Loudon.
MotoGP runs the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.
World Superbike comes to the United States to run Laguna Seca.
IMSA goes North of the Border to Mosport.
DTM heads to Moscow.
Super Formula is back on track at Fuji.
Is Juan Pablo Montoya the Greatest of this Generation?
The Colombian went 5040 days between IndyCar victories. In that interim, Montoya won seven grand prix, thirteen poles, thirty podiums and scored twelve fastest laps in Formula One driving for Williams and McLaren, going toe-to-toe with Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso.
He made a bold switch to NASCAR in the middle of 2006, won two Cup races, one Nationwide race, had 24 Cup top fives, 59 Cup top tens, nine Cup pole positions and finished eighth in the Cup series in 2009.
Let's not forget Montoya is a three-time winner of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Only Hurley Haywood, Scott Pruett, Peter Gregg, Pedro Rodríguez, Rolf Stommelen and Bob Wollek have more and he is tied with Derek Bell, Butch Leitzinger, Brian Redman, Memo Rojas and Andy Wallace at three.
If he was from Columbia, South Carolina or Columbia, Missouri and his name was Jack Moore, he would be hailed as this generations A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti or Dan Gurney. Montoya has done what we all wish this generation of drivers would do: Branch out. Run everything and anything. Not let the modern world of ironclad contracts get in the way of being a race car driver.
If you take the last twenty years, name me a driver who has accomplished more over the variety of disciplines Montoya has? While he has never dominated a series like Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel have in Formula One, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in NASCAR or Sébastien Loeb in World Rally, Montoya has found success going out of series that become comfort zones. He is ruthless in whatever he drives. He doesn't care who his competitors are of what they have done before, he races everyone to the limit in whatever he gets in.
Montoya might not always have had the best attitude but when it comes to talent, he should not be over looked.
The Colombian Contingent
Awful lot of Colombian fans at Pocono yesterday and I thought it was fantastic. There are four Colombians on the grid, it's about time IndyCar started marketing them to the Latino community. Not to forget mentioning Gabby Chaves who leads the Indy Lights championship by 15 points over Zach Veach and won on Saturday at Pocono.
What Are You Thinking United Kingdom?
I would love to get to the United Kingdom one day but did you see the sports weekend they had scheduled? The British Grand Prix, Wimbledon Championships Gentleman's Final and the second day of the Tour de France from York to Sheffield (hometown of Justin and Stefan Wilson) all took place yesterday.
For comparison, imagine some ridiculous world where the Indianapolis 500, MLB All-Star Game and game seven of the NBA Finals all took place at noon on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. I understand not everyone can make their schedules so there is no overlap. It's bound to happen but the British Grand Prix and final day of Wimbledon should never fall on the same day. Not to mention the middle Sunday at Wimbledon is a rest day and would have been a better day for the British Grand Prix in my opinion. Especially with Lewis Hamilton winning and Jenson Button battling for a podium, Formula One should make sure that race is the only thing on the British sports radar for the weekend.
Good For You Aric Almirola
It was nice to see Aric Almirola get the Cup win at Daytona. He is a Florida kid, he got the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford to victory lane for the first time since John Andretti won at Martinsville in April 1999 and now he is in Chase. Don't get me wrong, I still despise the Chase format and I expect Almirola to run three average races and be eliminated early in the ridiculous format NASCAR has pulled out of their backside.
I always wonder what might have been for Almirola. In 2007, he was a Joe Gibbs Racing development drivers and was running a handful of Busch Series races. He won pole position at Milwaukee while being a stand-by driver for Denny Hamlin who was scheduled to race the car and was on his way from Sonoma. When it came time for the race to start, Hamlin wasn't there and Almirola started from pole and led the first 43 laps. A caution came out and Hamlin was ready to go, forcing Almirola from the car. He had the right to be angry with the decision and while Hamlin did go on to win and Almirola does get credit for the victory because he started the race, he asked for a release after the incident and it was given to him.
If only Almirola was given sometime to develop with a top team like Gibbs. He might have been shown the door anyway as the team was always focused on developing Joey Logano and hired Kyle Busch but I wonder if Almirola was just given the chance to finish that race.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Juan Pablo Montoya, Aric Almirola, Lewis Hamilton and Gabby Chaves but did you know...
René Rast and Enzo Ide won the Blancpain Sprint Series race at Zandvoort.
Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea split the World Superbike weekend at Portimão. Michael van der Mark won the Supersport race with American Patrick Jacobsen finishing fifth.
Jamie Whincup bookended the Townsville weekend with Garth Tander winning the second Saturday race.
Kasey Kahne won the Nationwide Series race at Daytona.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar is under the lights at Iowa.
NASCAR goes head-to-head with the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final at Loudon.
MotoGP runs the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.
World Superbike comes to the United States to run Laguna Seca.
IMSA goes North of the Border to Mosport.
DTM heads to Moscow.
Super Formula is back on track at Fuji.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
First Impressions: Pocono 2014
Another Pocono IndyCar race in the books and a lot to comment on. This is going to be a mix of reflecting on the Pocono 500 as well as the at-track experience.
1. Let's get the racing out of the way. Juan Pablo Montoya on top. At the beginning of the season I thought he would do well but not this well and I definitely didn't think the Colombian would be in victory lane. I am going to touch more on Montoya tomorrow in my Musings From the Weekend column but he proved today he is the best driver in IndyCar at stretching fuel mileage. Chevrolet clearly has leaped over Honda in the fuel mileage department since Honda switched to the twin-turbo for this season but Montoya, Will Power and Sébastien Bourdais have gotten better fuel mileage than everyone else this season, especially at Pocono.
2. Hélio Castroneves made it a Penske 1-2 but to be honest, it didn't seem like he had that good of a day. He benefited from Power's penalty and the way pit strategy was working out. It puts him right in the thick of the championship picture but he has to win races, not necessarily bring the car home in a decent position to become champion. We learned that last year.
3. Carlos Muñoz was outstanding all weekend. You have to wonder if a victory is going to fall his way. Aggressive on ovals with no fear and great car control. Andretti Autosport excels on short ovals and guess where IndyCar is at next Saturday night... Iowa.
4. Ryan Briscoe was up front all day. He finished fourth, top Ganassi driver. He didn't have a car that could compete with Team Penske, his teammate Tony Kanaan or Muñoz (though Briscoe did set fastest lap) but it's nice to see Briscoe have a good day.
5. Scott Dixon snuck into a top five. He methodically worked his way through the field. It might be a little late to resurrect his title defense but the top five keeps his hopes alive.
6. Simon Pagenaud and Mikhail Aleshin are a match made in heaven. Both are quick and it really has benefitted the Russian Aleshin. Had he come into IndyCar with a single car team or KV, his talent is wasted. Aleshin had a better race than the likes of Briscoe, Dixon and Pagenaud who all finished ahead of him and he made a banzai move, driving closer to the pit lane wall at Pocono than any other driver I can remember.
7. Josef Newgarden nearly stole the show, stretching fuel but coming six laps short. I really wanted to see him and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing steal it. They needed a good day. It's ironic the race he starts on the last row he scores a top ten but when he starts in the top ten, a gremlin always ruins his day.
8. I've never seen a harder earned ninth place finish than the one Marco Andretti got today. If he doesn't get the early pit lane speed violation, he has a shot for the podium, if not the victory. He easily caught the tail end of the field after serving his penalty and had some good battles with Newgarden, Pagenaud and Graham Rahal on his way to the top ten. He needed to do better today to keep his championship hopes alive but Andretti never gave up and it paid off.
9. Now, Will Power. I didn't see the block. When I saw Power breeze through the pit lane I thought he missed his pit box because it was a lap or two after the likes of Andretti, Muñoz, Pagenaud and Briscoe stopped to make sure they could make it to the end of the race. I've been saying all year it seems like things are falling Power's way. Taps Pagenaud at Long Beach, finishes second. A pit lane violation in both Indianapolis races, top tens in both. Runs Pagenaud into the wall at Belle Isle, wins. Runs over Newgarden and gets a drive-through in Belle Isle 2, finishes second. Pit lane speeding late in the race at Texas, finishes second. Even when he has a poor Houston doubleheader, his gap to second in the championship remained the same.
He finally stubbed his toe one too many times and since Pocono was double points, it bit Power hard as he and Castroneves are tied for the championship lead with seven races to go. If Power doesn't win this title, it will most likely be on him.
10. Tony Kanaan finished eleventh but for the second consecutive year the Brazilian was in contention to win at Pocono before it slipped away. This one was on Kanaan and his team though. The stopped under the lone caution with 36 laps to go. Other than Montoya, Power and Bourdais, no one was getting close to 36 lap stints and of all the Chevrolet teams, Kanaan appeared to be the worst on fuel mileage. He was always one of the first Chevrolets to stop. Had they not tried to stretch fuel and stayed on strategy, he would have been battling Montoya for the victory.
11. Speaking of the lone caution, 159 laps under green flag conditions. This field is talented enough that maybe the turbo boost should be turned up for the ovals. Give these drivers more power. They want it, fans want it. Don't get me wrong, it was great seeing so much green flag action but if the drivers want it, give it to them. And seeing the track record IndyCar has on ovals in the DW12-era, the last thing Kanaan should have done was hope for another caution.
12. There are two things I hate talking about when it comes to motorsports: Schedule and crowds. Despite Pocono Raceway President Brandon Igdalsky's fears over attendance, I thought this race was better attended than last year's. I don't know know though. Here are two pictures of the stands from my seat. These were taken just before the first round of pit stops.
I'll tell you what, this was a beautiful day. I am sure the walk up crowd helped but depending on a walk up crowd is a dangerous way to keep an event going.
13. The staff at Pocono Raceway is great. I've never had a problem and have been going to the track for a decade. Everyone I've encounter there is friendly and it gives off a positive energy felt around the facility.
With that said, for the second consecutive year, traffic was funneled from the track to Interstate 80, i.e. Standstill 2000. Even worst, unlike last year, you couldn't avoid it. You couldn't do a U-turn to avoid it if your life depended on it. Both lanes of state route 115, where the track is located, were heading the same direction, west to I-80. I had planned to go east on state route 115 I would have gotten to state highway 33 in a half hour tops. Instead it took an hour and fifteen minutes to get on state highway 33.
To be fair, I am sure there is a reason for why the track and the local police did but they got to work with us. I-80 is already backed up to Timbuktu with people travel back to New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island after the holiday weekend. It was the only negative part of the race weekend and is something that can be improved on.
14. Second consecutive year and second consecutive year of plenty good looking young men and women. IndyCar needs to take advantage of their young, attractive fan base. Also, lots of young women hanging around the area designated for Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe.
15. My mother pointed this out to me during the race, there are no food vendors walking up and down the aisle with hot dogs, water, etc. Especially with a race that goes nearly 400 miles caution free, this would be a great convenience to the fans.
16. I saw J.R. Hildebrand at the track with a pullover on that had a Preferred Freezer Services logo, his Indianapolis 500 sponsor, on it. Before I continue, let me say that I am very shy. I don't want to bother people and I didn't want to bother Hildebrand or ask him a bunch of questions. He was there, Preferred Freezer Services is a New Jersey-based company and hopefully they are interested in IndyCar going forward. Pocono would be their home race. Hopefully Hildebrand gets another race or two before 2014 is out.
17. What I reaffirmed this weekend: I need a smartphone.
18. What I reaffirmed part II: I need a better camera. Here are some of the better photos I took.
Two things at the track that I thought were ironic. First...
Finally, Montoya on his way to victory lane with Kanaan, Muñoz, Castroneves, Briscoe and Aleshin in the background.
19. Going to wrap this up by saying I really hope Pocono is back next year and for many years to come. On to Iowa. Look for more posts on IndyCar and the world of motorsports during the weekend.
1. Let's get the racing out of the way. Juan Pablo Montoya on top. At the beginning of the season I thought he would do well but not this well and I definitely didn't think the Colombian would be in victory lane. I am going to touch more on Montoya tomorrow in my Musings From the Weekend column but he proved today he is the best driver in IndyCar at stretching fuel mileage. Chevrolet clearly has leaped over Honda in the fuel mileage department since Honda switched to the twin-turbo for this season but Montoya, Will Power and Sébastien Bourdais have gotten better fuel mileage than everyone else this season, especially at Pocono.
2. Hélio Castroneves made it a Penske 1-2 but to be honest, it didn't seem like he had that good of a day. He benefited from Power's penalty and the way pit strategy was working out. It puts him right in the thick of the championship picture but he has to win races, not necessarily bring the car home in a decent position to become champion. We learned that last year.
3. Carlos Muñoz was outstanding all weekend. You have to wonder if a victory is going to fall his way. Aggressive on ovals with no fear and great car control. Andretti Autosport excels on short ovals and guess where IndyCar is at next Saturday night... Iowa.
4. Ryan Briscoe was up front all day. He finished fourth, top Ganassi driver. He didn't have a car that could compete with Team Penske, his teammate Tony Kanaan or Muñoz (though Briscoe did set fastest lap) but it's nice to see Briscoe have a good day.
5. Scott Dixon snuck into a top five. He methodically worked his way through the field. It might be a little late to resurrect his title defense but the top five keeps his hopes alive.
6. Simon Pagenaud and Mikhail Aleshin are a match made in heaven. Both are quick and it really has benefitted the Russian Aleshin. Had he come into IndyCar with a single car team or KV, his talent is wasted. Aleshin had a better race than the likes of Briscoe, Dixon and Pagenaud who all finished ahead of him and he made a banzai move, driving closer to the pit lane wall at Pocono than any other driver I can remember.
7. Josef Newgarden nearly stole the show, stretching fuel but coming six laps short. I really wanted to see him and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing steal it. They needed a good day. It's ironic the race he starts on the last row he scores a top ten but when he starts in the top ten, a gremlin always ruins his day.
8. I've never seen a harder earned ninth place finish than the one Marco Andretti got today. If he doesn't get the early pit lane speed violation, he has a shot for the podium, if not the victory. He easily caught the tail end of the field after serving his penalty and had some good battles with Newgarden, Pagenaud and Graham Rahal on his way to the top ten. He needed to do better today to keep his championship hopes alive but Andretti never gave up and it paid off.
9. Now, Will Power. I didn't see the block. When I saw Power breeze through the pit lane I thought he missed his pit box because it was a lap or two after the likes of Andretti, Muñoz, Pagenaud and Briscoe stopped to make sure they could make it to the end of the race. I've been saying all year it seems like things are falling Power's way. Taps Pagenaud at Long Beach, finishes second. A pit lane violation in both Indianapolis races, top tens in both. Runs Pagenaud into the wall at Belle Isle, wins. Runs over Newgarden and gets a drive-through in Belle Isle 2, finishes second. Pit lane speeding late in the race at Texas, finishes second. Even when he has a poor Houston doubleheader, his gap to second in the championship remained the same.
He finally stubbed his toe one too many times and since Pocono was double points, it bit Power hard as he and Castroneves are tied for the championship lead with seven races to go. If Power doesn't win this title, it will most likely be on him.
10. Tony Kanaan finished eleventh but for the second consecutive year the Brazilian was in contention to win at Pocono before it slipped away. This one was on Kanaan and his team though. The stopped under the lone caution with 36 laps to go. Other than Montoya, Power and Bourdais, no one was getting close to 36 lap stints and of all the Chevrolet teams, Kanaan appeared to be the worst on fuel mileage. He was always one of the first Chevrolets to stop. Had they not tried to stretch fuel and stayed on strategy, he would have been battling Montoya for the victory.
11. Speaking of the lone caution, 159 laps under green flag conditions. This field is talented enough that maybe the turbo boost should be turned up for the ovals. Give these drivers more power. They want it, fans want it. Don't get me wrong, it was great seeing so much green flag action but if the drivers want it, give it to them. And seeing the track record IndyCar has on ovals in the DW12-era, the last thing Kanaan should have done was hope for another caution.
12. There are two things I hate talking about when it comes to motorsports: Schedule and crowds. Despite Pocono Raceway President Brandon Igdalsky's fears over attendance, I thought this race was better attended than last year's. I don't know know though. Here are two pictures of the stands from my seat. These were taken just before the first round of pit stops.
 |
| Looking Toward Turn One |
 |
| Looking Toward Turn Three |
I'll tell you what, this was a beautiful day. I am sure the walk up crowd helped but depending on a walk up crowd is a dangerous way to keep an event going.
13. The staff at Pocono Raceway is great. I've never had a problem and have been going to the track for a decade. Everyone I've encounter there is friendly and it gives off a positive energy felt around the facility.
With that said, for the second consecutive year, traffic was funneled from the track to Interstate 80, i.e. Standstill 2000. Even worst, unlike last year, you couldn't avoid it. You couldn't do a U-turn to avoid it if your life depended on it. Both lanes of state route 115, where the track is located, were heading the same direction, west to I-80. I had planned to go east on state route 115 I would have gotten to state highway 33 in a half hour tops. Instead it took an hour and fifteen minutes to get on state highway 33.
To be fair, I am sure there is a reason for why the track and the local police did but they got to work with us. I-80 is already backed up to Timbuktu with people travel back to New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island after the holiday weekend. It was the only negative part of the race weekend and is something that can be improved on.
14. Second consecutive year and second consecutive year of plenty good looking young men and women. IndyCar needs to take advantage of their young, attractive fan base. Also, lots of young women hanging around the area designated for Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe.
15. My mother pointed this out to me during the race, there are no food vendors walking up and down the aisle with hot dogs, water, etc. Especially with a race that goes nearly 400 miles caution free, this would be a great convenience to the fans.
16. I saw J.R. Hildebrand at the track with a pullover on that had a Preferred Freezer Services logo, his Indianapolis 500 sponsor, on it. Before I continue, let me say that I am very shy. I don't want to bother people and I didn't want to bother Hildebrand or ask him a bunch of questions. He was there, Preferred Freezer Services is a New Jersey-based company and hopefully they are interested in IndyCar going forward. Pocono would be their home race. Hopefully Hildebrand gets another race or two before 2014 is out.
17. What I reaffirmed this weekend: I need a smartphone.
18. What I reaffirmed part II: I need a better camera. Here are some of the better photos I took.
My mother really liked Charlie Kimball's Mint Green Machine. It stands out and is original unlike Aleshin and Briscoe's liveries which are nearly identical. Speaking of Aleshin and Briscoe, here are there cars with Pagenaud on the grid.
Two things at the track that I thought were ironic. First...
Maybe Goodyear should make a tire that the teams can rely on before they take the "#1 in tires in racing" line. Firestone in IndyCar and Michelin in sports cars have them beat. Maybe even Pirelli in Formula One but that's a toss up.
Second ironic photo is Ryan Hunter-Reay being pushed to the garage after his suspension problem. Instead of going to the garage entrance, they were directed to a short cut through victory lane. Of all the places for a wounded race car to go through on the way for repairs, victory lane is the least desired route.
I somehow got this photo of Montoya and Kanaan.
Hard to tell from this photo but this is Montoya taking the checkered flag. I was a little early but my camera is close to a decade old and struggles with high speeds. I am proud despite it not being the best photo ever.
Finally, Montoya on his way to victory lane with Kanaan, Muñoz, Castroneves, Briscoe and Aleshin in the background.
19. Going to wrap this up by saying I really hope Pocono is back next year and for many years to come. On to Iowa. Look for more posts on IndyCar and the world of motorsports during the weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)