Lewis Hamilton did not win the Malaysian Grand Prix but he did extend his championship lead and Kimi Räikkönen's break down on the grid eliminated him from championship contention. Chase Elliott was on his way to his first career NASCAR Cup victory but back markers caused him to lose it on the penultimate lap. There were two first time winners this weekend. One happened in Las Vegas and the other happened in the middle of France. A championship changed hands in the final race of a season from Barcelona. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
How Did the Locals Do?
We are two weeks removed from the conclusion of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season and we are still only at the surface of the review of what is another obnoxiously long offseason. With that said, at least we can't complain about not having enough time to process what happened over the course of the season.
This part of the dissection goes back ten months to December. The Christmas season was underway, presents were locked in closets and the likes of Josef Newgarden, J.R. Hildebrand and Conor Daly had already been confirmed to their new rides. With the abundance of Americans on the grid I decided to look back on the total of Americans in IndyCar over a 25-year period to see how 2017 was shaping up to compare to the days we call glorious.
What I found was from 1992 to the 2016 season the average number of American drivers that were regulars to IndyCar, which I defined as drivers who started at least 70% of the races, was 7.75 drivers with a median of eight. At that point of last offseason, eight Americans had already been confirmed for full seasons and IndyCar had nine regulars this season because Spencer Pigot contested 12 of 17 races. This season had the most regular Americans on the grid than any prior season since reunification and it was the most regular Americans in IndyCar since the 2005 Indy Racing League season.
So Americans had the advantage in numbers? What did they do with that advantage?
Newgarden won four races and took the championship. Graham Rahal won twice and he was the first driver this season to score multiple victories on his way to finishing sixth in the championship. Alexander Rossi's victory at Watkins Glen highlighted his seventh place finish in the championship. While he didn't win a race, Ryan Hunter-Reay stood on the podium three times and he made it four Americans in the top ten as he finished ninth in the championship.
Seven victories were the most victories by Americans since the 2003 IRL season. This was the third consecutive season three different American drivers won a race and there haven't been more than three American winners since five different Americans won in the 2003 IRL season. Four Americans in the top ten has kind of been the hump for the last decade. Four Americans were in the top ten in 2015 and before that it occurred in 2011. There have not been more than four Americans in the top ten since six Americans in the 2002 IRL season.
Americans were pretty spread out. They weren't all at the top but they weren't all at the bottom either. Marco Andretti finished 12th in the championship, Hildebrand finished 15th, Charlie Kimball was a position ahead of Conor Daly in 17th and Spencer Pigot made it nine Americans in the top twenty by finishing 20th. I think you could have asked for more from the American drivers. Five of them stood on the podium at some point this season. Seven had at least a top five finish. When comparing them to the results since 1992, they fall right in line.
It appears most of these Americans are going to be around for a while. Of the nine regulars, Hunter-Reay is the oldest and he turns 37 this December. The only other American regular older than 30 is Charlie Kimball and he is 32 years old. Marco Andretti is the next oldest at 30 years of age. The number of Americans on the grid might even grow in the coming years. Hildebrand's full-time status in IndyCar may be in question but Zach Veach is entering the season next year and Kyle Kaiser will be looking to make the step up after winning the Indy Lights championship.
Colton Herta, Aaron Telitz, Neil Alberico, Oliver Askew and Kaylen Frederick are a handful of promising Americans in the Road to Indy system right now and let's not forget drivers already on the sidelines such as Sage Karam and R.C. Enerson and maybe Formula Two driver Santino Ferrucci and GP3 driver Ryan Tveter take the Alexander Rossi route to IndyCar. Sean Rayhall is still young enough to make it to IndyCar. Let's not forget there might be a 13-year-old who just had his or her first karting race this weekend and in ten years could be the next budding American talent. There are a lot of promising names out there now and more to come and teams aren't shying away from American talent... except for Chip Ganassi Racing.
I do worry it could all go wrong and ten years from now we will be asking where all the American talent has gone as the likes of Hunter-Reay, Rahal and Andretti call it a day on their careers and the likes of Newgarden, Rossi and Daly will be on the back nine. We don't know what will happen in the next ten years holds but the American drivers did an outstanding job in 2017 and that appears likely to continue in 2018. The future looks good.
Champions From the Weekend
Jonathan Rea clinched his third consecutive World Superbike championship with a victory in race one from Magny-Cours. Rea retired in race two, which was won by Chaz Davies.
The #63 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini of Mirko Bortolotti, Christian Engelhart and Andrea Caldarelli won the Blancpain Endurance Series championship with a third-place finish in the 3 Hours of Barcelona. Bortolotti and Engelhart also took home the overall Blancpain GT Series championship with the result.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Jonathan Rea and Chaz Davies but did you know...
Max Verstappen won the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Niki Tuuli won the World Supersport race from Magny-Cours. It was Tuuli's first career World Supersport victory.
The #88 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG of Tristan Vautier, Félix Serrallés and Daniel Juncadella won the Blancpain Endurance Series 3 Hours of Barcelona.
Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Cup race from Dover. Ryan Blaney won the Grand National Series race. Ben Rhodes won the Truck race from Las Vegas, his first career victory.
Coming Up This Weekend
The 60th Bathurst 1000.
Formula One heads north to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix.
The IMSA season ends with Petit Le Mans.
NASCAR starts round two at Charlotte.
Super GT will be at Buriram.
TCR International Series runs at a new track in Zhejiang, China.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
