1. I thought Scott Dixon winning Mid-Ohio from 22nd was one of the most remarkable races I had ever seen. This topped it but for many other reasons. It was the first race of 2017, no one expected Honda to have a prayer let alone Sébastien Bourdais with Dale Coyne Racing and from dead last, 21st on the grid. Did he catch a break with a timely caution? Yes but he had to pass Simon Pagenaud and then he drove away from him. Bourdais was constantly running in the low-62 second range. No one else was doing that. Oh, and he did it in his adopted hometown.
Imagine ten years ago, if you had told him on the victory podium in Mexico City after winning his 31st race and fourth championship and with a deal signed with Toro Rosso that in 2017 he would be leading the IndyCar championship with Dale Coyne Racing. He would have laughed. He was through with American open-wheel racing. He had wiped the floor with everybody and he was ready to challenge the best in Formula One.
I am in awe of this run and I should be in awe of the man. Sébastien Bourdais didn't pick up on the ass whooping when he returned to IndyCar in 2011 but he has always been in the fight. He finished ninth in a Lotus for crying out loud! No one else can say they did that. He is one of the best and this only adds to the Frenchman's legend.
2. Simon Pagenaud's title defense looked to have started as an uphill battle after he ended up 14th on the grid but he made up some ground and caught a break with that timely yellow flag. It put him in the lead but Bourdais didn't take long to pass and he never really was able to make a challenge on his fellow countryman. It was still a good race. He was the second best driver on track and just like his championship season, he starts with a second in St. Petersburg.
3. Scott Dixon was caught out by that caution for debris that benefitted the Frenchman. He was outside the top ten but then used his pace to pick off positions one by one and ended up third. If that caution didn't catch him out he might have taken the lead and ran away with this one. It was a good weekend for Dixon as a whole.
4. Ryan Hunter-Reay had the brakes fail entering turn ten during the warm-up and he had to make an emergency pit stop before the green flag for an acceleration issue and ended up fourth. Once again, benefitted from the debris caution but he had a pretty good car considering what it went through in the hours leading up to the race.
5. Takuma Sato nearly earned being the top Andretti qualifier and finisher in his debut weekend for the team but he was nipped at the line for fourth by Hunter-Reay by 0.0528 seconds. I guess he ran out of fuel or Hunter-Reay timed the pass to perfection. Their lap times on the final lap weren't that different. Either way, good weekend for Sato but I am not going to say he has been cured of his previous inconsistency. The season is still young.
6. Hélio Castroneves finished sixth and other than being mentioned because he had a piece of Graham Rahal's body work in the front wing after the lap one, turn three incident, I don't think Castroneves was mentioned once all day. That is the typical Castroneves day. Do nothing spectacular and finish in the top five or seven.
7. Marco Andretti had a good car all weekend and finished seventh. I think the key thing for him is staying calm and I think Bryan Herta on the pit stand will help that. He was fastest in first and third practice, had a poor qualifying run because the car wasn't set up right for the alternate tires but instead of getting mad about it, Andretti has to say it is alright and they will work from there. It was only week one but it was promising for him.
8. Josef Newgarden finished eighth in his debut weekend for Team Penske and he was caught out by that debris caution. He ran around the top ten all day and he was looking good before the caution shuffled him back. It was week one, he completed all the laps and he finished eighth. Not a bad way to start a season. It could have been much worse.
9. James Hinchcliffe got the lead at the start of this race and it looked like he was going to drive away from the field but that debris caution shuffled him back and he couldn't make up the same amount of ground as the like of Dixon. He looked good all weekend.
10. If you told Dale Coyne that Ed Jones was going to finish tenth on debut, I bet Coyne would have been thrilled just with that. Well, Jones did finish tenth and on most debuts that would be the lead story in the team press release but this will be overshadowed a bit. However, Jones looked good, he got to run at the front and he lost time during pit stops but this was his first race featuring pit stops. He should be happy.
11. Alexander Rossi got caught out by the debris caution and couldn't get going and finished 11th. Tony Kanaan was half of the debris caution and he was stuck in the middle of the pack all day. JR Hildebrand's return to full-time competition looked good at the start but the debris caution ruined that. Mikhail Aleshin was at the back all day and was half of the debris caution. Conor Daly's highlight was cutting turn three and giving back a position. Max Chilton was looking to finished second best of the four Ganassi cars but had to make a late pit stop for fuel and that dropped him to 16th.
12. Graham Rahal spun in turn three after contact with Charlie Kimball, who then got into Carlos Muñoz. Rahal fell a lap down and never could recover. Not the start of the season he wanted but he still has the pace and he has to put it behind him. Unfortunately for Kimball this doesn't help his reputation with the rest of the field. This is a bad break for Muñoz. He starts 11th for his Foyt debut and he is collateral damage and ends up 21st.
13. Will Power was slightly off-strategy and while it appeared it might get him on the podium and if not that at least a top five, he started saving fuel, dropping ten seconds off the pace and he tumbled down the order before being black flagged. I suspect there was another issue there but look at this way, Power has more points than he did after St. Petersburg last year and he was the only driver who could usurp Pagenaud at Sonoma.
14. Spencer Pigot was the darling of the first third of the race as he jumped into the top ten and then passed the likes of Pagenaud, Kanaan and Rossi on his way to the top five and when he had to pit under caution from fifth, his left rear brake pad exploded pretty much killing his day. I wish he had a shot to fight it out. I think he would have gotten a top ten.
15. The ABC broadcast finds a way to get worse. What is with the new caution probability? The booth set us up for a caution that never came. It's like if baseball broadcasts used probability of the next at-bat being a home run and kept saying, we are due for a home run. That's not how you broadcast any sport. No neutral viewer should ever be rooting for a caution. Bestwick is being dragged down by Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear. Replace Goodyear with Jon Beekhuis and pay Dario Franchitti whatever he wants to replace Goodyear.
16. A few quick things, if brakes are the worst problem IndyCar has then we have come a long way from car owners overthrowing the CEO, race control going green on an oval in the rain and the defending rule that infamously took over a race at Edmonton. It needs to be corrected and if what Brembo says is true that they haven't been involved in the latest developments than IndyCar needs to correct that.
17. The changes to turn three were that bad, other than it caused the only caution of substance all race. I thought it was a knee jerk reaction on Friday and I say by it. It is much tighter and hopefully they can correct it for 2017. With that said, St. Petersburg is still a top-notch street circuit. I wish something could be done to turn turns four and ten into better passing zones but that is easier said than done. Maybe one of these years I will head to St. Petersburg to escape the single-digit wind chill and impending nor'easter.
18. Now there are three weeks off before Long Beach. It isn't ideal but it's not so bad because there are three races in April.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Morning Warm-Up: St. Petersburg 2017
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| Will Power is on pole position again at St. Petersburg |
James Hinchcliffe qualified 0.2399 seconds behind Power in third position, a career best for the Canadian at St. Petersburg. This is Hinchcliffe's best starting position on a road/street circuit since last year's Grand Prix of Indianapolis when he started and finished third. Josef Newgarden will make his Team Penske debut from fourth on the grid, a career best for him at St. Petersburg. The last four Grand Prix of St. Petersburg have been won from fourth on the grid. This will be the fourth time in Newgarden's career he has started fourth. Takuma Sato makes his Andretti Autosport debut from fifth on the grid. This is the fifth consecutive year Sato has started in the top ten at St. Petersburg and the fourth time in five years he has started in the top five. Tony Kanaan rounded out the top six. He has 11 top ten finishes in 12 career starts at St. Petersburg. Kanaan has started sixth 30 previous times in his IndyCar career and he has never won from that position.
Max Chilton's first race in a Honda sees him start on the inside of row four next to his former Marussia F1 teammate Alexander Rossi. Chilton and Rossi started on the same row twice last season. In each race Chilton started better than Rossi but Rossi finished tenth both times while Chilton's best finish in those two races was 14th. Rossi matches his career best starting position on a road/street circuit, which was set at 2016 season finale at Sonoma. Row five features another pair of former teammates starting side-by-side with Charlie Kimball in ninth and Graham Rahal in tenth. This is the first time Kimball has ever started in the top ten at St. Petersburg while this is Rahal's fourth career top ten start at the event. Rahal hasn't finished in the top ten at St. Petersburg since 2010 and hasn't led a lap since his victory in 2008.
Carlos Muñoz's debut at A.J. Foyt Racing starts with him making it to the second round of qualifying and ending up 11th. In Muñoz's five previous starts from 11th on the grid, he has a podium, two top tens and two finishes of 20th or worse. Ryan Hunter-Reay rounds out row six next to his former teammate. This is Hunter-Reay's worst finish at St. Petersburg since starting 14th in 2011. Spencer Pigot will start a career best 13th in today's race. His previous best starting position was 17th and he started outside the top twenty fives times in his rookie season. Defending champion Simon Pagenaud will start on the outside of row seven. This is the third time Pagenaud has started 14th in his career. No one has won at St. Petersburg from outside the top nine. Marco Andretti and Hélio Castroneves will start on row eight. Andretti was the fastest in the first and third practice sessions this weekend. This is the first time ever Castroneves will not start in the top ten at St. Petersburg.
Mikhail Aleshin will start 17th. Last year, Aleshin went from 17th at St. Petersburg to fifth. Ed Jones will make his IndyCar debut from 18th on the grid. All four of Dale Coyne Racing's top ten finishes at St. Petersburg were achieved by Justin Wilson. Only twice has any other Coyne driver finished in the top fifteen in this race, including Conor Daly finishing 13th last year. JR Hildebrand's full-time IndyCar return sees him start 19th, his second best career starting position in his four St. Petersburg appearances. Thirty-eight of Hildebrand's 46 IndyCar starts have come with him starting outside the top ten and he has started outside the top fifteen on 23 occasions. Conor Daly's A.J. Foyt Racing debut is nine positions worse than his teammate in 20th. He started 20th last year at St. Petersburg and finished 13th. Sébastien Bourdais started 21st, last on the grid, after he made contact with the wall, damaging his wing and causing a red flag. This will be the 11th time in 163 starts Bourdais has started outside the top twenty.
ABC's coverage of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will begin at 12:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 110 laps.
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Track Walk: St. Petersburg 2017
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| IndyCar starts another season from St. Petersburg |
For those in the United States and Canada, do not forget Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday and to set your clocks forward by one hour.
Coverage
Time: Coverage begins at 12:00 p.m. ET on Sunday March 13th. Green flag at 12:30 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: ABC.
Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever in the booth with Rick DeBruhl, Dr. Jerry Punch and Jon Beekhius working the pit lane.
IndyCar Weekend Schedule
Friday:
First Practice- 11:15 a.m. ET (45-minute session).
Second Practice- 3:00 p.m. ET (45-minute session).
Saturday:
Third Practice- 10:50 a.m. ET (45-minute session).
Qualifying- 2:55 p.m. ET.
Sunday:
Warm-Up- 9:00 a.m. ET (30-miunte session).
Race- 12:30 p.m. ET (110 laps)
Penske Enters On Top
Team Penske dominated the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season, winning ten of 16 races and taking the top three positions in the championship and now the team heads to one of the team's best tracks. Penske has won eight of 13 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and it is only one of two teams to have won the race multiple times.
Juan Pablo Montoya has won the last two years at St. Petersburg but the Colombian is stepping away from full-time competition in IndyCar this season. Hélio Castroneves has won three times at St. Petersburg, more than any other driver, and Will Power is the only other driver to have won multiple times on the Floridian street course. Castroneves has five consecutive top five finishes at St. Petersburg. Out of nine appearances at St. Petersburg, Power has won pole position six times including the last two years. Power was unable to start last year's race because of concussion-like symptoms and an inner-ear problem.
Simon Pagenaud scored his career-best finish at St. Petersburg last year when he finished second to Montoya after leading a race-high 48 laps. The Frenchman has finished in the top five the last three years at St. Petersburg and he has four top ten finishes in five starts. Pagenaud has started on the front row the last two years after failing to make it out of the first round of qualifying in his first three St. Petersburg appearance.
Josef Newgarden makes his Penske debut this weekend. The Tennessean has made 83 starts in his first five IndyCar season and he has won three races, stood on the podium ten times and has 17 top five finishes and 34 top ten finishes. However, St. Petersburg has not been one of Newgarden's better tracks. His best finish in five starts is ninth, he has only started in the top ten once and he has never led a lap at the track. Newgarden's first Indy Lights victory did come at St. Petersburg in 2011. Newgarden looks to become the first driver to win in his Penske debut since Sam Hornish, Jr. did it at Homestead in 2004.
Ganassi Back at Honda
While Penske picked up the biggest free agent in the offseason, Chip Ganassi Racing switched from Chevrolet back to Honda after three seasons with the American manufacture. Ganassi won eight races, had 25 podiums and won the championship in 2015 with Chevrolet. However, the team only won four pole positions in those three seasons.
Ganassi contested the first two seasons of the DW12-era with Honda and won eight races in those two seasons, including the 2012 Indianapolis 500 with Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon led a Ganassi 1-2-3 finish at Pocono in 2013 ahead of Charlie Kimball and Franchitti. Dixon won the 2013 championship with Honda. The team also won ten pole positions in those two seasons with Honda.
Ganassi's lone St. Petersburg victory came in 2011, the final season with Honda as the sole engine supplier in IndyCar with Franchitti being the winning driver. St. Petersburg is one of five tracks currently on the IndyCar schedule were Scott Dixon has yet to win a race with the others being Barber, the IMS road course, Road America and Gateway. Dixon has three runner-up finishes at St. Petersburg.
Tony Kanaan has the best average finish for a non-St. Petersburg winner at 6.3 with 11 top ten finishes in 12 starts at the track. Charlie Kimball picked up his second career top ten finish at St. Petersburg last year but Kimball has finished 20th or worse in three of this six St. Petersburg starts. Max Chilton made his IndyCar debut at St. Petersburg last year and he finished 17th, one lap down.
Trying To Breakthrough
Andretti Autosport is the only team besides Team Penske to have multiple victories at St. Petersburg with Dan Wheldon winning in 2005 and James Hinchcliffe in 2013. Last year, Ryan Hunter-Reay finished third and the team has put a car on the podium four of the last five years at St. Petersburg. Alexander Rossi is still looking for his first top five finish on a street course in his IndyCar career while two of Marco Andretti's three top ten finishes in 2016 came on street circuits. Takuma Sato makes his Andretti Autosport debut on the track where he won pole position at in 2014.
While Ganassi moved to Honda, A.J. Foyt Racing switches to Chevrolet after contesting all five seasons in the DW12-era with the Japanese manufacture. The team has signed Carlos Muñoz from Andretti Autosport and Conor Daly from Dale Coyne Racing. The team has finished in the top ten in four consecutive St. Petersburg races. This will be A.J. Foyt Racing's first race with Chevrolet since the 2005 season finale at Fontana, where A.J. Foyt IV finished 21st.
Graham Rahal finished fifth in the championship last year and St. Petersburg is the site of Rahal's first career victory but since his first three appearances in St. Petersburg, the Ohioan has yet to have good results at the track. He won at the track in 2008 and followed that up with his first career pole position in 2009 and a seventh-place finish in that race and then a ninth-place finish in 2010 but Rahal has finished outside the top ten in six consecutive St. Petersburg races.
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has brought back James Hinchcliffe and Mikhail Aleshin for the 2017 season. Last year, Aleshin started off the IndyCar season with a fifth-place finish at St. Petersburg, matching the team's best result at the 1.8-mile street course. Like Rahal, St. Petersburg is the site of Hinchcliffe's first career victory but he has finished 19th, 16th and 19th in the three races since that victory and he has not led a lap at the track since that day in 2013.
The Debutant and The Returnees
The lone rookie on the St. Petersburg grid will be defending Indy Lights champion Ed Jones. The Emirati driver will drive the #19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda. Jones will become the first driver born in the United Arab Emirates to start an IndyCar race. Jones won five Indy Lights races in his two seasons in the junior series, including winning his first three races in the series in 2015, two of which were at St. Petersburg. He finished third in the championship as a rookie in 2015 before winning the title.
Joining Jones at Dale Coyne Racing in the #18 Honda will be Sébastien Bourdais, who raced for Dale Coyne Racing part-time in the 2011 season. The Frenchman has won at least one race in three consecutive seasons. He had four sixth-place finishes with Coyne in 2011 and scored fastest lap at Edmonton this year. Bourdais ended 2016 with four consecutive top ten finishes and he looks to extend that streak to five consecutive races, which would be his longest streak since his final year in Champ Car in 2007. Bourdais has only one top ten finish in six St. Petersburg starts, a sixth in 2015.
J.R. Hildebrand returns to full-time IndyCar competition for the first time since 2012, as Hildebrand will replace Josef Newgarden in the #21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing. Hildebrand has finished 11th, 19th and 19th in his three previous St. Petersburg starts with his most recent appearance on the gulf coast street course coming in 2013. Spencer Pigot returns for a second season as Ed Carpenter Racing's road/street course driver in the #20 Chevrolet. Pigot made his IndyCar debut at St. Petersburg last year and finished 14th driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Road to Indy
Fifteen cars are entered for the 2017 Indy Lights season opener at St. Petersburg with seven returning drivers and eight rookies.
Carlin won the championship last season with Ed Jones and the team has entered four cars. Neil Alberico returns while Zachary Claman De Melo is moving over from Juncos Racing. Brazilian Matheus Liest won the BRDC British Formula 3 championship last season and Garth Rickards moves up from U.S. F2000.
Santiago Urrutia finished second to Jones and moves to Belardi Auto Racing after Schmidt Peterson Motorsports withdrew from Indy Lights. The Uruguayan will be joined by defending Pro Mazda champion Aaron Telitz and Shelby Blackstock, who moves over from Andretti Autosport.
Andretti Autosport will run four cars with Nico Jamin moving up from Pro Mazda and Colton Herta coming over from the Euroformula Open Championship. Defending Atlantic champion Ryan Norman will be the team's third rookie with Dalton Kellett the only veteran on the team.
Kyle Kaiser won two races in 2016 and returns for his third season in Lights with Juncos Racing. Argentine Nicolas Dapero joins Kaiser at Juncos Racing from Pro Mazda. Juan Piedrahita is back at Team Pelfrey and his teammate for St. Petersburg is Pato O'Ward. The defending Pro Mazda vice-champion O'Ward is only confirmed for one round.
The first race of the Indy Lights weekend will take place at 5:10 p.m. ET on Saturday March 11 with race two scheduled for 9:45 a.m. ET on Sunday March 12th.
Team Pelfrey finished 1-2 in the Pro Mazda championship last year and this year the team has three cars entered. TJ Fischer returns with Nikita Lastochkin and Carlos Cunha entering the series. World Speed Motorsports also has three cars entered with defending National Class champion Bobby Eberle moving up to the big class and he will be joined by rookies Sting Ray Robb and Philippe Denes.
Anthony Martin moves up after winning the U.S. F2000 title and we will drive for Cape Motorsports. Victor Franzoni graduates to Pro Mazda with Juncos Racing. Franzoni won five U.S. F2000 races in two and a half seasons. Jeff Green will be Franzoni's teammate. Max Hanratty also moves up with ArmsUp Motorsports after a handful of U.S. F2000 starts. Matt Machiko enters the series with his own team, Machiko Motorsports Development. Brendan Puderbach, Kevin Davis and Charles Finelli are the three National Class entries.
Pro Mazda will race at 11:50 a.m. ET on Saturday March 11th and at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday March 12th.
The U.S. F2000 grid features both Team USA Scholarship winners Oliver Askew and Kyle Kirkwood. Askew will drive one of the two Cape Motorsports entries while Kirkwood is with the new team Benik. Askew's teammate at Cape Motorsports is Indian Ricky Donison. Cape Motorsports has won six consecutive U.S. F2000 championships.
Parker Thompson finished runner-up in last year's U.S. F2000 championship and he has moved to Exclusive Motorsports where his teammates will be Luke Gabin, another U.S. F2000 returnee, and rookie Dev Grove. Team Pelfrey will run three cars for sophomores Robert Megennis and Åyla Argen and rookie Kaylen Frederick. Pabst Racing has three cars for Dutchman Rinus VeeKay, Guyanese Calvin Ming and Brazilian Lucas Kohl. Newman Wachs Racing returns to competition with Dakota Dickerson and Andre Castro.
Both U.S. F2000 races will take place on Saturday March 11th at 8:40 a.m. ET and 2:00 p.m. ET.
For more on the Road to Indy Series, check out the season preview.
Pirelli World Challenge
Not only does St. Petersburg mark the opening round for IndyCar and the Road to Indy series but the Pirelli World Challenge season commences as well for the GT and GTS fields.
Twenty-three GT cars and two GT Cup cars will compete this weekend. Álvaro Parente is the defending GT champion and the K-PAX Racing McLaren driver has two new teammates in Bryan Sellers and Mike Hedlund. Patrick Long looks to bounce back after losing the championship on the final lap of last season to Parente and Long continues with Wright Motorsports Porsche. Long won his first two PWC races at St. Petersburg in 2011.
Cadillac returns with both Johnny O'Connell and Michael Cooper. Ryan Eversley got his first PWC victory at St. Petersburg in 2015 and he will lead the introduction of the Acura NSX GT3 into the series with Peter Kox. Ryan Dalziel returns to the series in a Mercedes with CRP Racing. James Davison will be at TRG-Aston Martin for the season opener with any further races to be determined. Jon Fogarty and Gainsco/Bob Stalling Racing have switched from McLaren to Porsche. Adderly Fong is back with Team Absolute Bentley but he has a new teammate in 18-year-old Yufeng Luo.
New to the PWC GT grid for 2017 will be Magnus Racing Audi and its two driver Pierre Kaffer and John Potter. Alex Riberas joins the series with R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari.
Last year, Michael Lewis swept the St. Petersburg weekend with EFFORT Racing Porsche. Parente and Davison finished second in the respective races while Cadillac teammates O'Connell and Cooper each finished third.
The first GT race will take place at 9:35 a.m. ET on Saturday March 11th with race two taking place at Sunday at 3:15 p.m. ET.
Twenty cars are entered for the GTS class. ANSA Motorsports won the GTS championship last year with Brett Sandberg but the New Jerseyan has left the series as he prepares for Blancpain Endurance Series competition. The team has entered two KTMs for the season opener for Frankie Montecalvo and Bill Ziegler. Mantella Autosports has the other two KTMs on the grid for Martin Barkey and Anthony Mantella.
Nate Stacy has moved to Flying Lizard Motorsports to drive a Porsche alongside Rodrigo Bapatista. Lawson Aschenbach and Tony Gaples will debut the new Chevrolet Camaro GT4 this weekend with Blackdog Speed Shop. Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker return in the Performance Motorsports Group Ginettas. Jade Buford leads the Racers Edge Motorsports SIN effort with Jason Bell as his teammate. Andrew Aquilante returns to the series in the Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang.
McLaren and Panoz are new manufactures in the GTS class. George Kurtz and Mark Klenin each will drive a McLaren 570s GT4 for GMG Racing and Klenin Performance Racing respectively. Ian James debuts the factory-backed Panoz Avezzano effort.
Jack Roush, Jr. swept the GTS races at St. Petersburg last year with Sandberg finishing second in each race. Stacy finished third in race one with Chase taking the final podium spot in race two.
GTS race one will be at 12:15 p.m. ET on Friday March 10th with race two scheduled for 12:55 p.m. ET on Saturday March 11th.
For a more in-depth look in the PWC grid, check out the PWC season preview.
Fast Facts
This year's race will be the first ever IndyCar race held on March 12th, which also is Johnny Rutherford's and John Andretti's birthday.
Chevrolet has won five consecutive times at St. Petersburg.
Four consecutive Grand Prix of St. Petersburg have been won from fourth position on the grid and fourth on the grid has produced five total St. Petersburg winners, more than any other position. The average starting position for a St. Petersburg winner is 4.153.
The pole sitter has won at St. Petersburg twice (Castroneves 2007 and Power 2010).
Twice the winner has started 2nd (Paul Tracy 2003 and Dario Franchitti 2011).
Twice the winner has started 5th (Castroneves 2006 and 2012)
The worst starting position for a St. Petersburg winner is ninth (Wheldon 2005 and Graham Rahal 2008).
Will Power broke the track record last year in round two of qualifying with a lap of 1:00.0658.
An American driver has not won the season opener since Sam Hornish, Jr. won at Homestead in 2004.
The average and median amount of lead changes at St. Petersburg is six. The fewest lead changes in a St. Petersburg race was two in 2003 and the most was ten in 2010.
The average amount of cautions at St. Petersburg is 4.307 for an average 19.769 laps. The median amount of cautions is five for a median of 20 laps.
The fewest amount of cautions in a St. Petersburg race is two for ten laps. Seven cautions is the most to occur at St. Petersburg and that happened in 2009. The most caution laps was 29 laps during six caution periods in 2008 and four caution periods in 2013.
Seven St. Petersburg races have featured twenty caution laps or more.
Possible Milestones:
Hélio Castroneves needs to lead 5 laps to reach the 5,600 laps led milestone.
Scott Dixon needs to lead 101 laps to reach the 5,000 laps led milestone.
Tony Kanaan needs to lead 4 laps to reach the 4,000 laps led milestone.
Sébastien Bourdais needs to lead 43 laps to reach the 2,500 laps led milestone.
Marco Andretti needs to lead 10 laps to reach the 1,000 laps led milestone.
Josef Newgarden needs to lead 21 laps to reach the 700 laps led milestone.
Predictions
Josef Newgarden wins on his Penske debut, Penske sweeps the top four positions in qualifying but Newgarden does not start fourth and Penske does not sweep the podium. J.R. Hildebrand finishes in the top five in his first race in the #21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet. At least three Hondas start in the top ten and at least three Honda teams are represented in the top ten on the grid. I think we see a record-low caution laps for a Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Sleeper: Conor Daly.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
2017 Road to Indy Preview
The St. Petersburg weekend not only is the opening round to the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season but also the opening round to the Road to Indy series, Indy Lights, Pro Mazda and U.S. F2000. Each series will run a doubleheader this weekend with Indy Lights contesting 16 races, Pro Mazda contesting 12 races and U.S. F2000 contesting 14 races.
ArmsUp Motorsports
Kevin Davis Racing
This preview will take you series-by-series at most of the drivers fighting for a championship and the coveted scholarships to help progress to the next rung of the ladder system.
Indy Lights
This is year three for the IL-15 chassis with Mazda engines and all ten race weekends will be in conjunction with IndyCar races, starting this weekend in St. Petersburg. Indy Lights takes a month off before a doubleheader at Barber April 22-23rd and a doubleheader on the IMS road course May 12-13th. The Freedom 100 will be the seventh race of the 2017 season held on its now accustomed Carb Day afternoon, May 26th.
The halfway mark of the 2017 season comes at Road America on June 24-25th with the second oval of the season being Iowa on July 9th. Indy Lights doesn't return to a street circuit until the Toronto doubleheader on July 14-15th and the series closes out the month July 29-30th at Mid-Ohio. Gateway returns to the Indy Lights schedule for the first time since 2003 with a race on August 26th and the season finale will be one single race at Watkins Glen on September 3rd.
Teams
Belardi Auto Racing
Santiago Urrutia: #5 Belardi Auto Racing Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished second in the Indy Lights championship after winning four races and scoring seven podium finishes.
What to expect in 2017: Urrutia returns for a second season in Indy Lights and he should be considered one of the favorites for the championship. The Uruguayan has moved to Belardi Auto Racing after driving for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2016. SPM has withdrawn for the Indy Lights championship but Urrutia has gone to the team that won the 2014 title with Gabby Chaves and the team was strong in 2016 with Zach Veach and Felix Rosenqvist each winning multiple races.
Aaron Telitz: #9 Mazda/Rice Lake Weighing Systems Mazda
What did he do in 2016: Telitz won the Pro Mazda championship with six victories and 13 podium finishes in 16 races.
What to expect in 2017: History shows that Pro Mazda champions find success in Indy Lights. The last six Pro Mazda champions have won an Indy Lights race in the succeeding season. I think Telitz could be on the fringe of contending for the championship. He has a tough teammate to beat but it will be a good measuring stick for the 25-year-old Wisconsinite.
Shelby Blackstock: #51 Starstruck Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished eighth in his second year in Indy Lights and had four top five finishes with his best finish being fourth on two occasions.
What to expect in 2017: The Tennessean move to Belardi Auto Racing after five seasons with Andretti Autosport in all three Road to Indy series. Blackstock has been respectable everywhere he has gone but he has yet to breakthrough and be a championship contender in any series. He should be around the middle of the field all season.
Juncos Racing
Kyle Kaiser: #18 Juncos Racing Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished third in his second year in Indy Lights and won two races and had eight podium finishes.
What to expect in 2017: Like Urrutia, Kaiser should be in the championship conversation all season. Kaiser in his previous four seasons in the Road to Indy had a tendency to tear up equipment but he was clean last year and Juncos Racing has the equipment to win the title, not to mention Kaiser could potentially be looking at a shot in the Indianapolis 500 as the team expands its operations to IndyCar.
Nicolas Dapero: #31 American Brokers Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished fifth in Pro Mazda and won one race and had five podium finishes, including three consecutive to close out the season.
What to expect in 2017: While you might shake your head at a driver who finished fifth out of six full-time drivers, Dapero improved in each race in 2016. I don't think Dapero will be have the pace of his teammate but I think he will be somewhere in the middle and at 19 years old this season will be a stepping stone for a second year of Indy Lights for the Argentine in 2018.
Andretti Autosport
Nico Jamin: #27 Andretti Autosport Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished third in Pro Mazda and won twice and had six podium finishes.
What to expect in 2017: The Frenchman was fastest at the oval test at Homestead and second in the road course test last week and like Daparo, Jamin improved at the end of the season with all six of his podium finishes coming in the final eight Pro Mazda races. I think Jamin will contend for a few race victories and could be in the title conversation.
Dalton Kellett: #28 K-Line Insulators USA, Inc. Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished tenth in Indy Lights with his best finish being third in the Freedom 100.
What to expect in 2017: Kellett enters his second Indy Lights season and in 75 Road to Indy starts he has three podiums and he has never finished better than tenth in any championship. Signs don't point to any of that changing but Kellett was fastest in the morning session of the Homestead oval test. However, anything better than ninth or tenth in the championship shouldn't be expected.
Ryan Norman: #48 Flip Side Mazda/Aggressive Sound Mazda
What did he do in 2016: Norman won the Atlantic Championship after winning eight of 14 races with 11 podium finishes.
What to expect in 2017: The Ohioan was seventh fastest in the oval test and 14th out of 15th in the road course test. The Atlantic Championship is a shell of what it once was and it's more on a level of Pro Mazda than once being equal to Indy Lights. I think he will finish on the cusp of the top ten of the championship.
Colton Herta: #98 Deltro Energy Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished third in the 2016 Euroformula Open Championship with four victories and six podiums and also had a victory and three podiums in six BRDC British Formula 3 Championship.
What to expect in 2017: He was second fastest in the Homestead oval test and fastest on the road course by nearly three-tenths of a second and he will still be 16 years old for the season opener. Herta is going to be a championship contender and he will have a great inter-team battle with Jamin let alone with Urrutia, Kaiser and more.
Carlin
Garth Rickards: #11 Luther Automotive Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished tenth in U.S. F2000 and he had two top five finishes with his best finish being third.
What to expect in 2017: In 34 starts in U.S. F2000, Rickards had one podium and three top five finishes and his best finish in the championship was ninth. He was ninth in oval test and slowest in the road course test. Expect him at the back of the pack.
Zachary Claman De Melo: #13 ZCD Montreal/Zoological Wildlife Foundation Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished ninth in Indy Lights with three top five finishes and his best finish being fourth.
What to expect in 2017: He was 12th fastest at the road course test and tenth on the oval. The Canadian had a respectable first season with Juncos Racing. I think he will find some results but spend most of the season in the back half of the field.
Niel Alberico: #22 Rising Star Racing Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished 11th in Indy Lights and his best finish was fifth.
What to expect in 2017: Alberico's rookie season in Indy Lights was surprisingly bad considering his success in Pro Mazda and U.S. F2000. He was 11th at the road course test and eighth on the oval. This is a crucial season for the Californian especially with his backing. Rising Star Racing is the same group that supports Josef Newgarden and Spencer Pigot.
Matheus Leist: #26 TMA Mazda
What did he do in 2016: Leist won the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with four victories and 11 podium finishes.
What to expect in 2017: The 19-year-old Brazilian was sixth in both preseason tests and I think he will be a sleeper for the championship. He was consistent against stout competition in England and prior to his title he finished fifth in MSA Formula in 2015 behind the likes of McLaren youth driver Lando Norris, BMW junior driver Ricky Collard and Colton Herta. Look for him to win a race or two.
Team Pelfrey
Juan Piedrahita: #2 Petrosur Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished 13th in Indy Lights after contesting 13 of 18 races and his best finish was seventh.
What to expect in 2017: Piedrahita is entering Gustavo Yacamán territory. In 43 Indy Lights starts, he has one podium finish. In 95 Road to Indy starts he has yet to win a race. The Colombian has always been a mid-pack driver and that likely won't change in 2017.
Pato O'Ward: #3 Team Pelfrey Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished second in Pro Mazda, losing the title to his teammate Aaron Telitz by 28 points despite winning seven races and finishing on the podium nine times.
What to expect in 2017: O'Ward is only confirmed for St. Petersburg so likely you will only see the 17-year-old Mexican driving in the Prototype Challenge class in IMSA with Performance Tech Motorsports after this weekend. Hopefully, O'Ward can have a great weekend and add full-time in Indy Lights to his schedule.
Pro Mazda
This is a transition year for the Pro Mazda, as the series will debut its new Tatuus PM-18 chassis next year. The schedule has been trimmed to a dozen races over six rounds, all in conjunction with IndyCar races.
After the St. Petersburg season opener, Pro Mazda won't return to competition until the Grand Prix of Indianapolis weekend May 12-13th. The series will reach the halfway point at Road America June 25-26th. The series will have a triple-header at Mid-Ohio July 28-30th. The only oval race of the season will be at Gateway on August 26th. The season ends with a doubleheader at Watkins Glen on September 2-3rd.
Teams
Team Pelfrey
Nikita Lastochkin: #80 Russkaya Mekhanika Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished eighth in U.S. F2000 with his best finish being fifth.
What to expect in 2017: His two years in U.S. F2000 weren't the most impressive but he was a consistent driver and he was third quickest at the Homestead test.
Carlos Cunha: #81 Team Pelfrey Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished fifth in Formula 3 Brazil where he won once and had six points in ten starts.
What to expect in 2017: He was fastest of all his teammates at the Homestead test and was second quickest overall.
TJ Fisher: #82 Project O2 Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished seventh in Pro Mazda after running nine and 16 races and his best finish was fifth. He started 2016 in U.S. F2000, where his best finish was ninth in six starts.
What to expect in 2017: Fisher has experience in this car and has run at half the tracks in this car. However, he was the slowest among his teammates and fourth overall at the test, about a quarter-second behind them.
Cape Motorsports
Anthony Martin: #8 Mazda/Burgess BLA Mazda
What did he do in 2016: Martin won the U.S. F2000 championship after seven victories and 11 podium finishes in 16 starts.
What to expect in 2017: He was the fastest at the Homestead test but Cape Motorsports is still looking for its first title since joining the series in 2014. Martin will be a championship contender.
Juncos Racing
Victor Franzoni: #23 Juncos Racing Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished third in the U.S. F2000 championship and won three races with 11 podium finishes.
Juncos Racing
Victor Franzoni: #23 Juncos Racing Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished third in the U.S. F2000 championship and won three races with 11 podium finishes.
What to expect in 2017: Franzoni had tested with ArmsUp Motorsports in the U.S. F2000 test at Homestead. After two and a half seasons in the bottom rung, he returns to Pro Mazda after running partially in the series in 2015. He is a late addition but Juncos Racing is a top team and I think he could challenge for the title.
Jeff Green: #60 Juncos Racing Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He raced some spec Miatas at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois.
What to expect in 2017: He was slowest at the Homestead test. And no, this is not 2000 NASCAR Busch Series champion Jeff Green.
Jeff Green: #60 Juncos Racing Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He raced some spec Miatas at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois.
What to expect in 2017: He was slowest at the Homestead test. And no, this is not 2000 NASCAR Busch Series champion Jeff Green.
World Speed Motorsports
Bobby Eberle: #13 TITLE Boxing Club Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He won the Pro Mazda National Class championship, where his best finish was seventh.
What to expect in 2017: He has graduated from the National class and will now compete in the top class but he was fifth fastest out of seven at the test.
Sting Ray Robb: #14 Red Apple Marketplace Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He ran three NASCAR West Series races, where his best finish was 14th. He also finished second in the 2015-16 Skip Barber Winter Series where he won three races and had six podium finishes.
What to expect in 2017: He is only 16 years old and was sixth among seven drivers at the test. This year will be a learning experience for the driver who sounds like he came from the early IRL-era.
Phillipe Denes: #15 World Speed Motorsports Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished third in the F1600 Championship where he won twice and had 11 podium finishes in 21 starts. He also ran the final round in U.S. F2000 where his best finish was 7th.
What to expect in 2017: Denes was a late addition to the entry list. He could be the best of the three World Speed Motorsports cars.
Machiko Motorsports Development
Matt Machiko: #3 Machiko Motorsports Development Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He won the SCCA Formula Mazda National Championship.
What to expect in 2017: Not sure but he will be making a step up in terms of level of competition and he was not at the test. I am not sure he can keep up with Martin and the three Team Pelfrey drivers.
ArmsUp Motorsports
Max Hanratty: #6 ArmsUp Motorsports Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He ran eight U.S. F2000 races where his best finish was 12th. He also finished fourth in IMSA Prototype Lites, where he had six podium finishes and he finished fourth in the PC class at Petit Le Mans with Starworks.
What to expect in 2017: He has some experience in the Road to Indy series and Prototype Lites is a top series. I think he will be just outside the title fight if he contests a full season.
FatBoy Racing!
Brendan Puderbach: #31 FatBoy Racing! Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He ran seven races in U.S. F2000's National class where his best finish was 18th.
What to expect in 2017: He will be in the National class and likely at the back of the field.
Charles Finelli: #83 Allsport Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He ran three races in U.S. F2000 National class where his best finish was 17th.
What to expect in 2017: He will be in the National class and likely at the back of the field.
Kevin Davis Racing
Kevin Davis: #44 Kevin Davis Racing Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He ran four races in Pro Mazda National class with his best finish being eighth.
What to expect in 2017: Davis was a late addition to the entry list in the National class. How much he will race in 2017 still remains unseen.
U.S. F2000
This year marks the maiden season for the new Tatuus USF-17 chassis. The 14-race schedule will take place over eight rounds and all races will be held in conjunction with IndyCar races.
The series will head from St. Petersburg to Barber Motorsports Park for a doubleheader April 22-23rd. All three Road to Indy series will be at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis weekend May 12-13th and at Road America June 25th-26th. U.S. F2000's only oval race will be at Iowa Speedway on July 9th. The series crosses the border for the Toronto doubleheader on July 16-17th before a doubleheader at Mid-Ohio July 29-30th. Like Indy Lights, U.S. F2000 will end the season with a single-race at Watkins Glen on September 3rd.
Drivers to Watch
Oliver Askew: #3 Mazda Motorsports/MC Racing Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He won the Team USA Scholarship and finished second in the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone. He also won the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout
What to expect in 2017: Askew is coming off a great end of 2016 and he was fastest in the Homestead test. He is driving for Cape Motorsports, which has won six consecutive U.S. F2000 championships. He is one of the favorites.
Rinus VeeKay: #21 Jumbo Supermarkets The Netherlands/Total Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He had six podium finishes in six V de V Challenge Monoplace starts.
What to expect in 2017: The Dutch driver was just behind Askew during testing. He is driving for Pabst Racing, which started 2016 strong but couldn't match the pace of Cape.
Calvin Ming: #22 Mings Products and Services/APAN Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished fourth in the F16000 championship with three victories and 11 podium finishes. He is also currently leading the NACAM Formula 4 Championship.
What to expect in 2017: The Guyanese driver will be stepping up to deeper competition. Can he remain as successful? He was sixth during testing and has a respectable teammate in VeeKay to keep up with.
Kyle Kirkwood: #31 Benik Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He won the Team USA Scholarship where he finished seventh in the Formula Ford Festival and finished fourth in the Walter Hayes Trophy. He also finished third in the F4 United States Championship with one victory and nine podium finishes.
What to expect in 2017: Like Askew, Kirkwood is coming off a great end to 2016. He did well in testing but a concern is his team Benik was supposed to partner with Carlin but that deal fell through. It could hurt his title hopes.
Dakota Dickerson: #36 Team USA Scholarship/Mazda Motorsports Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished ninth in U.S. F2000 with his best finish being fourth.
What to expect in 2017: Dickerson improved throughout 2016 and now he heads to Newman Wachs Racing. He was ninth fastest during the test.
Andre Castro: #38 Newman Wachs Racing Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He won three races and ten podium finishes in the Skip Barber Formula Championship Series.
What to expect in 2017: Castro doesn't have much car racing experience but he was fourth fastest in the test and let's see what he can do with the returning Newman Wachs Racing.
Robert Megennis: #80 Palto Alto Networks Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished sixth in U.S. F2000 with two podium finishes.
What to expect in 2017: Megennis was the top American in U.S. F2000 last year and he should be toward the front of the field in most races.
Kaylen Frederick: #81 Pilot ONE Racing Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished seventh in the F1600 championship with one victory and four podium finishes. He also finished 13th in the final two races of the U.S. F2000 season.
What to expect in 2017: The 14-year-old was second fast at the Homestead test. His career is young but this could be a big start for the Marylander.
Åyla Argen: #82 Energima Mazda
What did she do in 2016: She finished 11th in U.S. F2000 with her best finish being fourth.
What to expect in 2017: The Norwegian returns for her second U.S. F2000 season and she was tenth fastest at the test. She remains with Team Pelfrey and has two stout teammates to keep up with in Megennis and Frederick.
Parker Thompson: #90 Exclusive Autosport Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished second in the U.S. F2000 championship with four victories and 12 podium finishes.
What to expect in 2017: It seemed like one poor race at Mid-Ohio is all that kept Thompson from the championship last year. He is one of the favorites for the title despite moving from the stalwart that is Cape Motorsports.
Luke Gabin: #91 Exclusive Autosport Mazda
What did he do in 2016: He finished fifth in the U.S. F2000 championship with four podium finishes.
What to expect in 2017: The Australian was constantly at the front last year but he didn't show that same pace at testing.
U.S. F2000 will be the first on track at St. Petersburg with a practice session Thursday afternoon with Indy Lights and Pro Mazda scheduled to hit the track on Friday.
U.S. F2000 will be the first on track at St. Petersburg with a practice session Thursday afternoon with Indy Lights and Pro Mazda scheduled to hit the track on Friday.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
2017 Pirelli World Challenge Preview
Pirelli World Challenge returns to action this weekend with two doubleheaders at St. Petersburg. This year's Pirelli World Challenge season sees a slightly altered schedule compared to previous seasons. Five of ten rounds will see Pirelli World Challenge run its traditional GT sprint format with the other half featuring Sprint-X rounds with two, 60-minute races that requires a driver change during the race.
St. Petersburg marks the first of the traditional GT sprint rounds with Long Beach marking the second round on April 9th with that being the lone single-race weekend and only featuring the GT category. Road America is the third sprint weekend on June 24-25th followed by Mid-Ohio on July 29-30th with the final sprint round being Sonoma on September 16-17th. All five of these rounds are also IndyCar race weekends.
The first of the Sprint-X weekends will be at Virginia International Raceway on April 28-30th. Mosport will be the second Sprint-X weekend on May 20-21st with the teams heading to Lime Rock Park the next weekend on May 26-27th. The penultimate Sprint-X round won't occur until August 12-13th at Utah Motorsports Park with the Sprint-X finale occurring on Labor Day weekend, September 2nd-3rd at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
The final Pirelli World Challenge associated weekend occurs October 13-15th as the teams will likely participate in the California 8 Hours, the penultimate round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. GTS will compete at every round except Long Beach and Laguna Seca.
GT
Twenty-three GT3 cars are entered for the season opener at St. Petersburg, 14 of which are GT classified.
Álvaro Parente returns to defend his championship and the Portuguese driver will be in the #9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3. Bryan Sellers joins Parente at K-PAX Racing in the #6 McLaren. Parente won six of 20 races last year and finished on the podium nine times but outside of those nine podium finishes, Parente finished outside the top five in his other 11 starts. Sellers has never competed in Pirelli World Challenge and he pairs this ride with his full-time ride with the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini in IMSA's GTD program.
Patrick Long finished runner-up last year to Parente after an ill-advised attempt to pass Johnny O'Connell for the victory in the finale at Laguna Seca when Long would have won the championship with a second-place finish but he returns for another crack at the title in the #58 Wright Motorsports Porsche GT3-R. Long won three races last year but did not win after Mosport in May. Jon Fogarty will be at the wheel of the #99 Porsche in GT as Gainsco/Bob Stallings Racing switches from McLaren. Fogarty's best finish in 2016 was third.
Michael Cooper topped his senior teammate Johnny O'Connell as the four-time champions' reign of dominance came to an end and O'Connell slipped to fourth in the championship after being penalized for blocking Long at Laguna Seca. O'Connell returns in the #3 Cadillac with Cooper in the #8 Cadillac. O'Connell did win three races to Cooper's two and the two drivers finished level on nine podium finishes.
RealTime Racing will debut two Acura NSX GT3s at St. Petersburg with Ryan Eversley returning in the #43 Acura with Peter Kox running the #93 Acura. Eversley swept the Road America weekend last season and finished sixth in the championship. Kox ran the Sonoma round last year for RealTime Racing and was a development driver for the NSX GT3 last year.
Absolute Racing will run two Bentley Continental GT3s with Hong Kong's Adderly Fong returning in the #88 Bentley. Fong finished runner-up on three occasions and had four podiums total and finished ninth in the championship. Yufeng Luo moves up from U.S. F2000 and will drive the #78 Bentley. His only U.S. F2000 victory came at St. Petersburg last year.
James Davison lost his Nissan factory ride as the manufacture is cutting back on its Pirelli World Challenge program for 2017. The Australian will be on the grid for the season opener at St. Petersburg in the #007 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for TRG but no rounds are planned beyond the season opener. In two PWC season, Davison won two races and had nine podium finishes including a fourth in the championship in 2015.
Ryan Dalziel returns to Pirelli World Challenge in the #2 CRP Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. Dalziel has won four PWC races, all coming at Mid-Ohio and the Scotsman finished third in the championship in 2015.
Spaniard Alex Riberas will be a rookie in Pirelli World Challenge as he will drive the #61 Ferrari 488 GT3 for R. Ferri Motorsport. Riberas had spent 2016 running full-time in IMSA's GTD category for Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing, where he won a race and finished fifth in the championship. He also won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Alex Job Racing in 2015.
Magnus Racing moves to Pirelli World Challenge after a long and successful history in IMSA's GTD category. Pierre Kaffer will drive the #4 Audi for Magnus Racing but will have to miss the Lime Rock Park and Mid-Ohio rounds due to the 24 Hours Nürburgring and 24 Hours of Spa respectively.
Nine cars are entered in GTA, the class for gentleman driver.
James Sofronas will drive the #14 GMG Racing Porsche with Alex Udell running the #17 Porsche for the team. Michael Schein will contest a second Wright Motorsports entry in the #16 Porsche.
Mike Hedlund will drive the #98 McLaren as a third entry for K-PAX Racing. John Potter will drive the #44 Audi for Magnus Racing. Jorge De La Torre runs the #04 Aston Martin for his own team. Italian Daniel Mancinelli will drive the #31 TR3 Racing Ferrari.
Two Mercedes will be in GTA with Tim Pappas in the #54 Black Swan Racing Mercedes with Pablo Perez Companc in the #69 Champ 1 Mercedes.
GT Cup
Two cars are entered in the GT Cup class. Marko Radisic will drive the #11 Precision Driving Ferrari Challenge Evo and Preston Calvert will drive the #77 Calvert Dynamics Porsche 991 GT3 Cup.
GTS
Twenty cars are entered in the GTS category with a plethora of GT4-spec cars.
Brett Sandberg is the defending GTS championship after three victories and 11 podiums with in a KTM X-Bow GT4 for ANSA Motorsports. It appears Sandberg is preparing to race in the Blancpain Endurance Series this season. The team has entered three KTMs for this season but Bill Ziegler is the only one confirmed in the #9 KTM.
Nate Stacy finished runner-up to Sandberg and won a race with Roush Racing last year but Stacy moves to Flying Lizard Motorsports and will drive the #14 Porsche Cayman GT4. Rodrigo Baptista will be Stacy's teammate in the #3 Porsche. There will be three other Porsche Cayman GT4s on the grid with Cameron Maugeri in the #7 Krugspeed Porsche and Case-it Racing entering two Porsches with Adam Merzon in the #017 Porsche and Cameron Cassels in the #018 Porsche.
Lawson Aschenbach won the most races in GTS last season with four victories and the two-time PWC GTS champion returns with Blackdog Speed Shop but will drive the new #10 Chevrolet Camaro GT4. Tony Gaples returns in the #11 Camaro and he hasn't had a podium finish since 2011.
Parker Chase finished fourth in the championship as a 15-year-old rookie last season and he is back in the #19 Performance Motorsports Group Ginetta G55. Chase did finish on the podium six times, including three runner-up finishes. Harry Gottsacker will be Chase's teammate in the #69 Ginetta. Gottsacker's best finish last season was fifth in the finale at Laguna Seca.
Mantella Autosport returns with two KTMs with Anthony Mantella in the #8 KTM and Martin Barkey in the #88 KTM. Mantella's victory came at Utah while Barkey won the penultimate race of the season at Laguna Seca.
Jade Buford won three of his first four starts in a partial schedule in 2016. He returns in the #45 Racers Edge Motorsports SIN R1 GT4. The Tennessean will be joined by Jason Bell in the #2 SIN. The Bulgarian car won five races in 2016 with Scott Heckert finishing fifth in the championship despite missing the first two rounds and winning two races.
Andrew Aquilante finished second in his only PWC start last season but now he will be in the only Ford Mustang Boss 302 in GTS. He will drive the #32 Phoenix Performance Ford. There will be two new manufactures on the grid. Two McLarens 570s GT4 makes its debut with Mark Klenin in the #62 KPR McLaren with George Kurtz driving the #04 McLaren for GMG Racing. Ian James will debut the #50 Panoz Avezzano GT this weekend and it will also be the Brits debut in PWC.
This weekend GTS will race at 12:15 p.m. ET on Friday with race two at 12:55 p.m. ET on Saturday. GT race one will be at 9:45 a.m. ET on Saturday with race two at 3:15 p.m. ET on Sunday.
St. Petersburg marks the first of the traditional GT sprint rounds with Long Beach marking the second round on April 9th with that being the lone single-race weekend and only featuring the GT category. Road America is the third sprint weekend on June 24-25th followed by Mid-Ohio on July 29-30th with the final sprint round being Sonoma on September 16-17th. All five of these rounds are also IndyCar race weekends.
The first of the Sprint-X weekends will be at Virginia International Raceway on April 28-30th. Mosport will be the second Sprint-X weekend on May 20-21st with the teams heading to Lime Rock Park the next weekend on May 26-27th. The penultimate Sprint-X round won't occur until August 12-13th at Utah Motorsports Park with the Sprint-X finale occurring on Labor Day weekend, September 2nd-3rd at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
The final Pirelli World Challenge associated weekend occurs October 13-15th as the teams will likely participate in the California 8 Hours, the penultimate round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. GTS will compete at every round except Long Beach and Laguna Seca.
GT
Twenty-three GT3 cars are entered for the season opener at St. Petersburg, 14 of which are GT classified.
Álvaro Parente returns to defend his championship and the Portuguese driver will be in the #9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3. Bryan Sellers joins Parente at K-PAX Racing in the #6 McLaren. Parente won six of 20 races last year and finished on the podium nine times but outside of those nine podium finishes, Parente finished outside the top five in his other 11 starts. Sellers has never competed in Pirelli World Challenge and he pairs this ride with his full-time ride with the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini in IMSA's GTD program.
Patrick Long finished runner-up last year to Parente after an ill-advised attempt to pass Johnny O'Connell for the victory in the finale at Laguna Seca when Long would have won the championship with a second-place finish but he returns for another crack at the title in the #58 Wright Motorsports Porsche GT3-R. Long won three races last year but did not win after Mosport in May. Jon Fogarty will be at the wheel of the #99 Porsche in GT as Gainsco/Bob Stallings Racing switches from McLaren. Fogarty's best finish in 2016 was third.
Michael Cooper topped his senior teammate Johnny O'Connell as the four-time champions' reign of dominance came to an end and O'Connell slipped to fourth in the championship after being penalized for blocking Long at Laguna Seca. O'Connell returns in the #3 Cadillac with Cooper in the #8 Cadillac. O'Connell did win three races to Cooper's two and the two drivers finished level on nine podium finishes.
RealTime Racing will debut two Acura NSX GT3s at St. Petersburg with Ryan Eversley returning in the #43 Acura with Peter Kox running the #93 Acura. Eversley swept the Road America weekend last season and finished sixth in the championship. Kox ran the Sonoma round last year for RealTime Racing and was a development driver for the NSX GT3 last year.
Absolute Racing will run two Bentley Continental GT3s with Hong Kong's Adderly Fong returning in the #88 Bentley. Fong finished runner-up on three occasions and had four podiums total and finished ninth in the championship. Yufeng Luo moves up from U.S. F2000 and will drive the #78 Bentley. His only U.S. F2000 victory came at St. Petersburg last year.
James Davison lost his Nissan factory ride as the manufacture is cutting back on its Pirelli World Challenge program for 2017. The Australian will be on the grid for the season opener at St. Petersburg in the #007 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for TRG but no rounds are planned beyond the season opener. In two PWC season, Davison won two races and had nine podium finishes including a fourth in the championship in 2015.
Ryan Dalziel returns to Pirelli World Challenge in the #2 CRP Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. Dalziel has won four PWC races, all coming at Mid-Ohio and the Scotsman finished third in the championship in 2015.
Spaniard Alex Riberas will be a rookie in Pirelli World Challenge as he will drive the #61 Ferrari 488 GT3 for R. Ferri Motorsport. Riberas had spent 2016 running full-time in IMSA's GTD category for Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing, where he won a race and finished fifth in the championship. He also won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Alex Job Racing in 2015.
Magnus Racing moves to Pirelli World Challenge after a long and successful history in IMSA's GTD category. Pierre Kaffer will drive the #4 Audi for Magnus Racing but will have to miss the Lime Rock Park and Mid-Ohio rounds due to the 24 Hours Nürburgring and 24 Hours of Spa respectively.
Nine cars are entered in GTA, the class for gentleman driver.
James Sofronas will drive the #14 GMG Racing Porsche with Alex Udell running the #17 Porsche for the team. Michael Schein will contest a second Wright Motorsports entry in the #16 Porsche.
Mike Hedlund will drive the #98 McLaren as a third entry for K-PAX Racing. John Potter will drive the #44 Audi for Magnus Racing. Jorge De La Torre runs the #04 Aston Martin for his own team. Italian Daniel Mancinelli will drive the #31 TR3 Racing Ferrari.
Two Mercedes will be in GTA with Tim Pappas in the #54 Black Swan Racing Mercedes with Pablo Perez Companc in the #69 Champ 1 Mercedes.
GT Cup
Two cars are entered in the GT Cup class. Marko Radisic will drive the #11 Precision Driving Ferrari Challenge Evo and Preston Calvert will drive the #77 Calvert Dynamics Porsche 991 GT3 Cup.
GTS
Twenty cars are entered in the GTS category with a plethora of GT4-spec cars.
Brett Sandberg is the defending GTS championship after three victories and 11 podiums with in a KTM X-Bow GT4 for ANSA Motorsports. It appears Sandberg is preparing to race in the Blancpain Endurance Series this season. The team has entered three KTMs for this season but Bill Ziegler is the only one confirmed in the #9 KTM.
Nate Stacy finished runner-up to Sandberg and won a race with Roush Racing last year but Stacy moves to Flying Lizard Motorsports and will drive the #14 Porsche Cayman GT4. Rodrigo Baptista will be Stacy's teammate in the #3 Porsche. There will be three other Porsche Cayman GT4s on the grid with Cameron Maugeri in the #7 Krugspeed Porsche and Case-it Racing entering two Porsches with Adam Merzon in the #017 Porsche and Cameron Cassels in the #018 Porsche.
Lawson Aschenbach won the most races in GTS last season with four victories and the two-time PWC GTS champion returns with Blackdog Speed Shop but will drive the new #10 Chevrolet Camaro GT4. Tony Gaples returns in the #11 Camaro and he hasn't had a podium finish since 2011.
Parker Chase finished fourth in the championship as a 15-year-old rookie last season and he is back in the #19 Performance Motorsports Group Ginetta G55. Chase did finish on the podium six times, including three runner-up finishes. Harry Gottsacker will be Chase's teammate in the #69 Ginetta. Gottsacker's best finish last season was fifth in the finale at Laguna Seca.
Mantella Autosport returns with two KTMs with Anthony Mantella in the #8 KTM and Martin Barkey in the #88 KTM. Mantella's victory came at Utah while Barkey won the penultimate race of the season at Laguna Seca.
Jade Buford won three of his first four starts in a partial schedule in 2016. He returns in the #45 Racers Edge Motorsports SIN R1 GT4. The Tennessean will be joined by Jason Bell in the #2 SIN. The Bulgarian car won five races in 2016 with Scott Heckert finishing fifth in the championship despite missing the first two rounds and winning two races.
Andrew Aquilante finished second in his only PWC start last season but now he will be in the only Ford Mustang Boss 302 in GTS. He will drive the #32 Phoenix Performance Ford. There will be two new manufactures on the grid. Two McLarens 570s GT4 makes its debut with Mark Klenin in the #62 KPR McLaren with George Kurtz driving the #04 McLaren for GMG Racing. Ian James will debut the #50 Panoz Avezzano GT this weekend and it will also be the Brits debut in PWC.
This weekend GTS will race at 12:15 p.m. ET on Friday with race two at 12:55 p.m. ET on Saturday. GT race one will be at 9:45 a.m. ET on Saturday with race two at 3:15 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Monday, March 6, 2017
Musings From the Weekend: What to Watch For in IndyCar
Shane Van Gisbergen credited his pole position at Adelaide to going pee and then the New Zealander promptly swept his first weekend as defending Supercars champion. NASCAR's 2,500th Cup race was won by Brad Keselowski after Kevin Harvick was penalized for a pit lane speeding violation. NASCAR awarded no playoff points in one race. Las Vegas might get a second Cup race. Supercross teams dealt with the cold of Canada. The IndyCar season is upon us. Formula One teams will head back to Barcelona for testing on Tuesday. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
What to Watch For in IndyCar
With the IndyCar season on the horizon, I think it is important to take a look at a few topics that are likely going to be consistent storylines throughout the 2017 season. Here are five:
1. Abundance of Americans
There are eight full-time American drivers scheduled to contest the entire 2017 IndyCar season and the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet is going to be split by two Americans. Each IndyCar race is shaping up to have nine American drivers on the grid, the most regulars since the 2005 IRL season and by far the United States will be the most represented country on the grid and these aren't just a bunch of field fillers.
Josef Newgarden is at Penske. Graham Rahal has been a contender the last two seasons. Ryan Hunter-Reay is a past champion and Indianapolis 500 winner. Alexander Rossi is defending Rookie of the Year and Indianapolis 500 winner. J.R. Hildebrand returns to full-time competition and was quick in testing. Charlie Kimball and Marco Andretti are consistent drivers. Conor Daly has moved to A.J. Foyt Racing. Ed Carpenter looks to find his footing and Spencer Pigot is looking to make an impression and earn a full-time ride.
I enter 2017 not wondering if an American will win a race but how many races will Americans win. Expectations are high but muted for Newgarden. He is at Penske but we saw Simon Pagenaud struggle in his first year with the team. Five of the Americans drive Hondas so there is a feeling that half the contingent will be fighting an uphill battle but Honda held its own on the big ovals and there seems to be at least two or three road/street course races where the Hondas are in contention.
I won't say 2017 could be a watershed year for IndyCar but people shouldn't be complaining about a lack of Americans in IndyCar this year.
2. Chevrolet vs. Honda
It has been a bloodbath for the better part of five years but the last two years have been particularly a mess. After Chevrolet won the most races in 2015 10-6, it upped its win total to 14-2 in 2016, year two of the aero kits. This marks the third and final year for aero kits but all aero kit development has been frozen and that doesn't leave many encouraged thinking it could be any better than another 14-2 beat down by the Bowtie Brigade.
The optimist would look at the freeze in aero kit development and think the teams would at least have another year with the kits and could work on perfecting setup at all these races and that could make up some of the deficit between the two manufactures. The optimist would also point out, as was mentioned above, that Honda had the advantage at the large ovals of Indianapolis, Pocono and Texas. While it is only three races, it is better than nothing and not to forget mentioning that one of those three is the most important race on the schedule.
On paper, the manufacture battle is an inevitable one-sided battle but maybe diminished expectation combined with Honda teams finding a solution could provide us with a surprising and thrilling season.
3. Universal Aero Kits
While we speculate about the Chevrolet-Honda battle, the development of the universal aero kits will linger in the background of the entire 2017 IndyCar season.
The actual timeline isn't clear. Whether the specifics are known before or after St. Petersburg is being disputed. Whether a model of the car will be unveiled at Indianapolis during the month of May is being disputed. The one thing that seems to be cemented is IndyCar wants the universal aero kit tested by the Mid-Ohio weekend, which makes sense considering the initial DW12 test was held after the 2011 Mid-Ohio race.
One other thing that needs to be announced is the constructor of the universal aero kit. I can't see how a model can be unveiled until a constructor is known. I know IndyCar released renderings of what the universal aero kit could look like in 2018 during the North American International Auto Show in January but if a constructor has another idea in mind then those are meaningless unless IndyCar already has a constructor and hasn't announced it yet and that constructor is Dallara.
Although, with IndyCar on the front foot of cockpit protection development and all talk pointing to aeroscreens possibly being introduced by 2018, maybe the universal aero kit constructor could be someone different. Red Bull Technologies was rumored as being interested in becoming the universal aero kit constructor and Red Bull has an aeroscreen that has been used during first Friday practices at a few Formula One races. Maybe that suggests IndyCar will have a new relationship come 2018.
Until the constructor is announced and the universal aero kit is unveiled, every race will have chatter about 2018 and that will likely continued once testing of the universal aero kit begins.
There is part of me wondering if the conversations we will have in IndyCar this season are similar to the conversations that we had toward the end of last season in Formula One. Mercedes might have wiped the floor with the competition for a third consecutive season but there were signs that Red Bull were closing in on the German manufacture and many wondered if another change in the regulations was going just going to reset the cycle and have another era of single team dominance. Could the same happen in IndyCar this year where the Hondas make up noticeable ground on the Chevrolets and lead us to wonder whether the universal aero kit, another cost to the teams, will be needed at all?
4. Future Television Rights
The current television contract ends at the end of 2018 but negotiations can begin this year.
ESPN.com laid off IndyCar/motorsports writer John Oreovicz after the Daytona 500 and in a parting message he said the website would scale back IndyCar coverage to just the Indianapolis 500 and the Detroit races. I don't want to say that points to ABC/ESPN slowly stepping away from the series and not putting up a bid for 2019 and beyond but one would think if your network wanted to extend the rights then it wouldn't be decreasing the amount of attention it gave the series.
Does this suggest NBC is going to become the sole broadcaster? Not necessarily. NBC has a lot of properties that aren't IndyCar that take up key weekends. The Indianapolis 500 weekend traditionally is the opening weekend of the French Open, an NBC property. NBC has a lot of golf tournaments that take up weekend afternoons during spring and summer. Remember it wasn't that long ago Indianapolis 500 qualifying coverage was bumped off NBCSN because of Preakness post-race coverage. NBC is a crowded network and while having the Indianapolis 500 would be a nice property to have, it might not fit.
I could see a deal where IndyCar gives ABC the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Indianapolis 500 qualifying, the Indianapolis 500 and the Belle Isle races and the rest of the season to NBC with NBC now allowed to show four races on network, something that currently isn't allowed. That scenario would allow ABC to continue its coverage of the Indianapolis 500 but narrows its IndyCar coverage to four consecutive weekends, NBC gets to show a few IndyCar races on network and IndyCar gets a few more races on network television, which increases exposure of the series, which is good for sponsors and hopefully makes IndyCar a more promising destination for sponsors. That seems to be the best win-win-win scenario.
Could another network sweep in and take IndyCar? Fox has motorsports but IndyCar would be second fiddle to NASCAR for the first half of the season but would likely be the top motorsports property across the second part of the season. Turner Sports just stunned the American soccer landscape and purchased the UEFA Champions League rights away from Fox Sports and Turner has history with motorsports albeit with NASCAR. However, Turner would be cable-only and likely replace NBCSN with the Indianapolis 500 remaining on network, most likely ABC. CBS hasn't had regular motorsports coverage since 2000 and there are no signs of that changing. BeIn Sports has MotoGP, World Superbike and World Rallycross rights in the U.S. and while it could probably write a large check the ratings would be piss poor and make IndyCar even less appealing to sponsors.
I am not sure if the next IndyCar television deal will be announced during this season or after but we will hear about it.
5. Future Scheduling
The current IndyCar schedule is decent but IndyCar CEO Mark Miles still wants an international series as well as expanding the series domestically.
The good news for IndyCar is it appears all races on the 2017 schedule have a contract through 2018. That gives a year hiatus from the worrying articles about the impeding departures of Pocono, Iowa, Texas and others from the IndyCar schedule. IndyCar has a foundation for 2018 and in all likelihood none of these races will move too far around the schedule meaning we know there is a gap from St. Petersburg in mid-March and Long Beach in mid-April that needs to be filled and a possible place in early-August for a race in-between Mid-Ohio and Pocono.
A return to Portland kept floating around late in 2016 but that rumor has gone quiet in 2017. In all likelihood the winter came and talks died down because at the earliest the race could be added in 2018. The good news is we have seen in the past at St. Petersburg track presidents or promoters from other venue go to the race, talk to IndyCar's senior officials and then a deal is announced and maybe in a few weeks Portland is back in the discussion.
Outside of Portland, where else could IndyCar expand to domestically? No other tracks have reportedly shown interest but I would love to see a return to Fontana or the series visit Circuit of the Americas for the first time and while Circuit of the Americas has expressed interest in a NASCAR race, this is year two of five-year deals NASCAR has made with all its tracks making the earliest NASCAR could head to Austin be 2021. Of course, contracts can be bought out but I am not sure Circuit of the Americas is in that position, not to forget mentioning Eddie Gossage wanting exclusivity over the state of Texas not just for IndyCar but NASCAR as well. I don't know how interested Circuit of the Americas would be in IndyCar but the series is looking for venues and a trip to Austin in late-March could fill that gap between St. Petersburg and Long Beach quite nicely.
As for the international, flyaway races to start the IndyCar season, Miles has been pushing this since he took control in 2013 and in the four years since we have had zero flyaway races to kick off the season. I am not sure IndyCar can draw the financial figures it wants to have flyaway races. I am all for IndyCar expanding its international profile but it doesn't make any sense to go somewhere abroad for one year and then have the event drop off the schedule because the organizers went bankrupt after not being able to recoup the sanctioning fee it paid.
While the recent past points to talk of flyaway races going nowhere, the chances of domestic expansion are promising and even if it doesn't happen, IndyCar will at least have schedule stability heading into 2018.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Shane Van Gisbergen and Brad Keselowski but did you know...
Eli Tomac won the Supercross race from Toronto, his fourth victory of the season and he trails Ryan Dungey, who finished second in Toronto, by 22 points.
Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Grand National Series race on Saturday. Christopher Bell won the Truck race.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar season opener from St. Petersburg.
Road to Indy series start their seasons in St. Petersburg.
Pirelli World Challenge starts its season in St. Petersburg.
NASCAR heads west to Las Vegas.
Supercross heads to Daytona Bike Week.
Superbikes will be at Buriram.
The World Rally Championship heads to Mexico.
What to Watch For in IndyCar
With the IndyCar season on the horizon, I think it is important to take a look at a few topics that are likely going to be consistent storylines throughout the 2017 season. Here are five:
1. Abundance of Americans
There are eight full-time American drivers scheduled to contest the entire 2017 IndyCar season and the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet is going to be split by two Americans. Each IndyCar race is shaping up to have nine American drivers on the grid, the most regulars since the 2005 IRL season and by far the United States will be the most represented country on the grid and these aren't just a bunch of field fillers.
Josef Newgarden is at Penske. Graham Rahal has been a contender the last two seasons. Ryan Hunter-Reay is a past champion and Indianapolis 500 winner. Alexander Rossi is defending Rookie of the Year and Indianapolis 500 winner. J.R. Hildebrand returns to full-time competition and was quick in testing. Charlie Kimball and Marco Andretti are consistent drivers. Conor Daly has moved to A.J. Foyt Racing. Ed Carpenter looks to find his footing and Spencer Pigot is looking to make an impression and earn a full-time ride.
I enter 2017 not wondering if an American will win a race but how many races will Americans win. Expectations are high but muted for Newgarden. He is at Penske but we saw Simon Pagenaud struggle in his first year with the team. Five of the Americans drive Hondas so there is a feeling that half the contingent will be fighting an uphill battle but Honda held its own on the big ovals and there seems to be at least two or three road/street course races where the Hondas are in contention.
I won't say 2017 could be a watershed year for IndyCar but people shouldn't be complaining about a lack of Americans in IndyCar this year.
2. Chevrolet vs. Honda
It has been a bloodbath for the better part of five years but the last two years have been particularly a mess. After Chevrolet won the most races in 2015 10-6, it upped its win total to 14-2 in 2016, year two of the aero kits. This marks the third and final year for aero kits but all aero kit development has been frozen and that doesn't leave many encouraged thinking it could be any better than another 14-2 beat down by the Bowtie Brigade.
The optimist would look at the freeze in aero kit development and think the teams would at least have another year with the kits and could work on perfecting setup at all these races and that could make up some of the deficit between the two manufactures. The optimist would also point out, as was mentioned above, that Honda had the advantage at the large ovals of Indianapolis, Pocono and Texas. While it is only three races, it is better than nothing and not to forget mentioning that one of those three is the most important race on the schedule.
On paper, the manufacture battle is an inevitable one-sided battle but maybe diminished expectation combined with Honda teams finding a solution could provide us with a surprising and thrilling season.
3. Universal Aero Kits
While we speculate about the Chevrolet-Honda battle, the development of the universal aero kits will linger in the background of the entire 2017 IndyCar season.
The actual timeline isn't clear. Whether the specifics are known before or after St. Petersburg is being disputed. Whether a model of the car will be unveiled at Indianapolis during the month of May is being disputed. The one thing that seems to be cemented is IndyCar wants the universal aero kit tested by the Mid-Ohio weekend, which makes sense considering the initial DW12 test was held after the 2011 Mid-Ohio race.
One other thing that needs to be announced is the constructor of the universal aero kit. I can't see how a model can be unveiled until a constructor is known. I know IndyCar released renderings of what the universal aero kit could look like in 2018 during the North American International Auto Show in January but if a constructor has another idea in mind then those are meaningless unless IndyCar already has a constructor and hasn't announced it yet and that constructor is Dallara.
Although, with IndyCar on the front foot of cockpit protection development and all talk pointing to aeroscreens possibly being introduced by 2018, maybe the universal aero kit constructor could be someone different. Red Bull Technologies was rumored as being interested in becoming the universal aero kit constructor and Red Bull has an aeroscreen that has been used during first Friday practices at a few Formula One races. Maybe that suggests IndyCar will have a new relationship come 2018.
Until the constructor is announced and the universal aero kit is unveiled, every race will have chatter about 2018 and that will likely continued once testing of the universal aero kit begins.
There is part of me wondering if the conversations we will have in IndyCar this season are similar to the conversations that we had toward the end of last season in Formula One. Mercedes might have wiped the floor with the competition for a third consecutive season but there were signs that Red Bull were closing in on the German manufacture and many wondered if another change in the regulations was going just going to reset the cycle and have another era of single team dominance. Could the same happen in IndyCar this year where the Hondas make up noticeable ground on the Chevrolets and lead us to wonder whether the universal aero kit, another cost to the teams, will be needed at all?
4. Future Television Rights
The current television contract ends at the end of 2018 but negotiations can begin this year.
ESPN.com laid off IndyCar/motorsports writer John Oreovicz after the Daytona 500 and in a parting message he said the website would scale back IndyCar coverage to just the Indianapolis 500 and the Detroit races. I don't want to say that points to ABC/ESPN slowly stepping away from the series and not putting up a bid for 2019 and beyond but one would think if your network wanted to extend the rights then it wouldn't be decreasing the amount of attention it gave the series.
Does this suggest NBC is going to become the sole broadcaster? Not necessarily. NBC has a lot of properties that aren't IndyCar that take up key weekends. The Indianapolis 500 weekend traditionally is the opening weekend of the French Open, an NBC property. NBC has a lot of golf tournaments that take up weekend afternoons during spring and summer. Remember it wasn't that long ago Indianapolis 500 qualifying coverage was bumped off NBCSN because of Preakness post-race coverage. NBC is a crowded network and while having the Indianapolis 500 would be a nice property to have, it might not fit.
I could see a deal where IndyCar gives ABC the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Indianapolis 500 qualifying, the Indianapolis 500 and the Belle Isle races and the rest of the season to NBC with NBC now allowed to show four races on network, something that currently isn't allowed. That scenario would allow ABC to continue its coverage of the Indianapolis 500 but narrows its IndyCar coverage to four consecutive weekends, NBC gets to show a few IndyCar races on network and IndyCar gets a few more races on network television, which increases exposure of the series, which is good for sponsors and hopefully makes IndyCar a more promising destination for sponsors. That seems to be the best win-win-win scenario.
Could another network sweep in and take IndyCar? Fox has motorsports but IndyCar would be second fiddle to NASCAR for the first half of the season but would likely be the top motorsports property across the second part of the season. Turner Sports just stunned the American soccer landscape and purchased the UEFA Champions League rights away from Fox Sports and Turner has history with motorsports albeit with NASCAR. However, Turner would be cable-only and likely replace NBCSN with the Indianapolis 500 remaining on network, most likely ABC. CBS hasn't had regular motorsports coverage since 2000 and there are no signs of that changing. BeIn Sports has MotoGP, World Superbike and World Rallycross rights in the U.S. and while it could probably write a large check the ratings would be piss poor and make IndyCar even less appealing to sponsors.
I am not sure if the next IndyCar television deal will be announced during this season or after but we will hear about it.
5. Future Scheduling
The current IndyCar schedule is decent but IndyCar CEO Mark Miles still wants an international series as well as expanding the series domestically.
The good news for IndyCar is it appears all races on the 2017 schedule have a contract through 2018. That gives a year hiatus from the worrying articles about the impeding departures of Pocono, Iowa, Texas and others from the IndyCar schedule. IndyCar has a foundation for 2018 and in all likelihood none of these races will move too far around the schedule meaning we know there is a gap from St. Petersburg in mid-March and Long Beach in mid-April that needs to be filled and a possible place in early-August for a race in-between Mid-Ohio and Pocono.
A return to Portland kept floating around late in 2016 but that rumor has gone quiet in 2017. In all likelihood the winter came and talks died down because at the earliest the race could be added in 2018. The good news is we have seen in the past at St. Petersburg track presidents or promoters from other venue go to the race, talk to IndyCar's senior officials and then a deal is announced and maybe in a few weeks Portland is back in the discussion.
Outside of Portland, where else could IndyCar expand to domestically? No other tracks have reportedly shown interest but I would love to see a return to Fontana or the series visit Circuit of the Americas for the first time and while Circuit of the Americas has expressed interest in a NASCAR race, this is year two of five-year deals NASCAR has made with all its tracks making the earliest NASCAR could head to Austin be 2021. Of course, contracts can be bought out but I am not sure Circuit of the Americas is in that position, not to forget mentioning Eddie Gossage wanting exclusivity over the state of Texas not just for IndyCar but NASCAR as well. I don't know how interested Circuit of the Americas would be in IndyCar but the series is looking for venues and a trip to Austin in late-March could fill that gap between St. Petersburg and Long Beach quite nicely.
As for the international, flyaway races to start the IndyCar season, Miles has been pushing this since he took control in 2013 and in the four years since we have had zero flyaway races to kick off the season. I am not sure IndyCar can draw the financial figures it wants to have flyaway races. I am all for IndyCar expanding its international profile but it doesn't make any sense to go somewhere abroad for one year and then have the event drop off the schedule because the organizers went bankrupt after not being able to recoup the sanctioning fee it paid.
While the recent past points to talk of flyaway races going nowhere, the chances of domestic expansion are promising and even if it doesn't happen, IndyCar will at least have schedule stability heading into 2018.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Shane Van Gisbergen and Brad Keselowski but did you know...
Eli Tomac won the Supercross race from Toronto, his fourth victory of the season and he trails Ryan Dungey, who finished second in Toronto, by 22 points.
Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Grand National Series race on Saturday. Christopher Bell won the Truck race.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar season opener from St. Petersburg.
Road to Indy series start their seasons in St. Petersburg.
Pirelli World Challenge starts its season in St. Petersburg.
NASCAR heads west to Las Vegas.
Supercross heads to Daytona Bike Week.
Superbikes will be at Buriram.
The World Rally Championship heads to Mexico.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
2017 IndyCar Team Preview: Chip Ganassi Racing
Here we are at the final team preview of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Season and we come to the second of two teams to switch manufactures. After three seasons with Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing returns to Honda and retains all four drivers from 2016. However, the team returns without long-time sponsor Target and is coming off not having a driver in the top five of the championship for the first time since 2005.
2016 Chip Ganassi Racing Review:
Wins: 2 (Phoenix, Watkins Glen)
Poles: 1 (Toronto)
Final Championship Positions: 6th (Scott Dixon), 7th (Tony Kanaan), 9th (Charlie Kimball), 19th (Max Chilton).
2017 Drivers:
Max Chilton - #8 Gallagher Honda
The former Marussia F1 driver made his IndyCar debut in 2016 and ran the full slate of races for Chip Ganassi Racing. His season started with a surprise top ten run at Phoenix, where he finished ahead of the likes of Sébastien Bourdais, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Hunter-Reay. The rest of his rookie season was littered with dismal performances. He qualified fourth at Iowa but a spin ruined any shot at a respectable finish. Watkins Glen would be the only other highlight of Chilton's season where he started sixth and finished tenth.
Numbers to Remember:
2: Top ten finishes in 2016 (seventh at Phoenix, tenth at Watkins Glen).
2: Lap led in 2016, both at Iowa.
2: Retirements in 2016, both at Belle Isle.
Predictions/Goals:
We all know Chilton has deep and reliable backing. Unless the results get much, much worse, he will be safe for 2018 and to be fair to Chilton is he is a reliable driver who brings the car home each week with all four wheels attached.
However, Chip Ganassi doesn't give drivers a long leash. Chilton had the fourth-worst average finish for first-year Ganassi drivers who ran at least 70% of a season. Of the three below Chilton, Memo Gidley (who only raced 14 of 20 races after replacing Nicolas Minassian) and Bryan Herta didn't get a year two and Charlie Kimball got a year two despite having the worst average finish for first-year Ganassi drivers and things have been working out for Kimball. (Ironically, Chilton also had the fourth-worst average starting position for first-year Ganassi drivers and two of the bottom three didn't get a year two with Ganassi (Sage Karam and Maurício Gugelmin) and Kimball had the worst average starting position).
I am sure he wants better results but with the switch to Honda I think it will stunt any potential growth. If he can match his total top ten finishes from last year, I think that would be a big victory for him. I am not sure he can break the top fifteen in the championship.
Scott Dixon - #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
He entered 2016 as the defending champion and I am not sure any other driver can have such a successful disappointing season. Dixon was the only non-Penske driver to win multiple races but he suffered his worst championship finish since 2005 and he finished sixth. I am not sure there is a year where Dixon was bit by bad luck as often as he was in 2016. The car died on him with an electrical problem at Belle Isle, his engine failed after six laps at Road America, his suspension crumbled after contact with Hélio Castroneves at Mid-Ohio and he had more electrical issues at Sonoma. However, he passed Al Unser on the all-time victories list after triumphant runs at Phoenix and Watkins Glen.
Numbers to Remember:
12: Consecutive seasons with a victory, an IndyCar record.
40: Career victories, fourth all-time in IndyCar.
9.8: Dixon's average finish in 2016, his worst since 2005.
Predictions/Goals:
There isn't much Dixon has to do different. The switch to Honda is putting an anvil around his neck but Dixon will win a race or two and likely be in contention for top five in the championship. Can he contend for a fifth championship? That might be a stretch but if Graham Rahal can be in the title fight the last two years as a single-car Honda team there is no reason to think Dixon couldn't find himself in the conversation come Sonoma. I think Dixon will improve in his total of top five finishes. He had five last season.
Tony Kanaan - #10 NTT Data Honda
At 41 years old, the Brazilian showed he still has some in the tank. Kanaan had ten top ten finishes in the first 11 races with a turn one, lap one collision with Sébastien Bourdais at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis being the lone blemish to start the season. He finished tied with Simon Pagenaud for most top ten finishes in 2016 with 12. He was a contender in the Indianapolis 500 and challenged Will Power for the victory at Road America. Kanaan was in another fierce battle at Texas with Graham Rahal and James Hinchcliffe but finished third.
Numbers to Remember:
20: 2017 marks Kanaan's 20th season in IndyCar.
37: Laps led in 2016, the second-fewest in a season for Kanaan behind zero in his rookie season in 1998.
265: Consecutive starts for Kanaan dating back to Portland 2001.
Predictions/Goals:
I think this will be Kanaan's final year. You don't create memorabilia celebrating your 20th season unless you are hoping to cash in on people buying it for sentimental value. We have seen it across the board in the world of sports. And I think it pays off for Kanaan and he wins an oval race in his final season. I don't necessarily think he will finish better in the championship, I actually think he will finish worse than seventh. I don't think he can match his 2016 level of consistency especially with the Honda aero package.
Charlie Kimball - #83 Tresiba Honda
If Scott Dixon had the most successful disappointing season, Charlie Kimball had the most exciting boring season in 2016. Kimball had 11 top ten finishes, tied with Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Sébastien Bourdais and Dixon for third-most. The month of May was the high point of his season as Kimball finished fifth in both Indianapolis races and was nipped by 0.0255 seconds by Kanaan for fourth in the Indianapolis 500. He had one finish outside the top fifteen, which was 16th in the second Belle Isle race. He technically didn't retire from a race a but his lone did not finish was the season opener at St. Petersburg when he spun entering turn one on the final lap and parked in the barriers and he still finished tenth in that race.
Numbers to Remember:
2,066: Laps completed in 2016 out of 2,070, most in IndyCar.
15: Consecutive finishes, second-best active streak in IndyCar (Marco Andretti, 17).
100: IndyCar starts in Kimball's career.
Predictions/Goals:
Kimball has to do nothing different and change everything at the same time. He needs to keep his consistency but be in more competitive positions. If he can do that then he has a shot to be a championship contender. With the switch to Honda, I don't think Kimball will get 11 top ten finishes again but I think he will get at least seven top ten finishes, completes at least 93.5% of all laps contested and Kimball will be just outside the top ten of the championship.
The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season opener, the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will take place on Sunday March 12th at 12:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
2016 Chip Ganassi Racing Review:
Wins: 2 (Phoenix, Watkins Glen)
Poles: 1 (Toronto)
Final Championship Positions: 6th (Scott Dixon), 7th (Tony Kanaan), 9th (Charlie Kimball), 19th (Max Chilton).
2017 Drivers:
Max Chilton - #8 Gallagher Honda
The former Marussia F1 driver made his IndyCar debut in 2016 and ran the full slate of races for Chip Ganassi Racing. His season started with a surprise top ten run at Phoenix, where he finished ahead of the likes of Sébastien Bourdais, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Hunter-Reay. The rest of his rookie season was littered with dismal performances. He qualified fourth at Iowa but a spin ruined any shot at a respectable finish. Watkins Glen would be the only other highlight of Chilton's season where he started sixth and finished tenth.
Numbers to Remember:
2: Top ten finishes in 2016 (seventh at Phoenix, tenth at Watkins Glen).
2: Lap led in 2016, both at Iowa.
2: Retirements in 2016, both at Belle Isle.
Predictions/Goals:
We all know Chilton has deep and reliable backing. Unless the results get much, much worse, he will be safe for 2018 and to be fair to Chilton is he is a reliable driver who brings the car home each week with all four wheels attached.
However, Chip Ganassi doesn't give drivers a long leash. Chilton had the fourth-worst average finish for first-year Ganassi drivers who ran at least 70% of a season. Of the three below Chilton, Memo Gidley (who only raced 14 of 20 races after replacing Nicolas Minassian) and Bryan Herta didn't get a year two and Charlie Kimball got a year two despite having the worst average finish for first-year Ganassi drivers and things have been working out for Kimball. (Ironically, Chilton also had the fourth-worst average starting position for first-year Ganassi drivers and two of the bottom three didn't get a year two with Ganassi (Sage Karam and Maurício Gugelmin) and Kimball had the worst average starting position).
I am sure he wants better results but with the switch to Honda I think it will stunt any potential growth. If he can match his total top ten finishes from last year, I think that would be a big victory for him. I am not sure he can break the top fifteen in the championship.
Scott Dixon - #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
He entered 2016 as the defending champion and I am not sure any other driver can have such a successful disappointing season. Dixon was the only non-Penske driver to win multiple races but he suffered his worst championship finish since 2005 and he finished sixth. I am not sure there is a year where Dixon was bit by bad luck as often as he was in 2016. The car died on him with an electrical problem at Belle Isle, his engine failed after six laps at Road America, his suspension crumbled after contact with Hélio Castroneves at Mid-Ohio and he had more electrical issues at Sonoma. However, he passed Al Unser on the all-time victories list after triumphant runs at Phoenix and Watkins Glen.
Numbers to Remember:
12: Consecutive seasons with a victory, an IndyCar record.
40: Career victories, fourth all-time in IndyCar.
9.8: Dixon's average finish in 2016, his worst since 2005.
Predictions/Goals:
There isn't much Dixon has to do different. The switch to Honda is putting an anvil around his neck but Dixon will win a race or two and likely be in contention for top five in the championship. Can he contend for a fifth championship? That might be a stretch but if Graham Rahal can be in the title fight the last two years as a single-car Honda team there is no reason to think Dixon couldn't find himself in the conversation come Sonoma. I think Dixon will improve in his total of top five finishes. He had five last season.
Tony Kanaan - #10 NTT Data Honda
At 41 years old, the Brazilian showed he still has some in the tank. Kanaan had ten top ten finishes in the first 11 races with a turn one, lap one collision with Sébastien Bourdais at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis being the lone blemish to start the season. He finished tied with Simon Pagenaud for most top ten finishes in 2016 with 12. He was a contender in the Indianapolis 500 and challenged Will Power for the victory at Road America. Kanaan was in another fierce battle at Texas with Graham Rahal and James Hinchcliffe but finished third.
Numbers to Remember:
20: 2017 marks Kanaan's 20th season in IndyCar.
37: Laps led in 2016, the second-fewest in a season for Kanaan behind zero in his rookie season in 1998.
265: Consecutive starts for Kanaan dating back to Portland 2001.
Predictions/Goals:
I think this will be Kanaan's final year. You don't create memorabilia celebrating your 20th season unless you are hoping to cash in on people buying it for sentimental value. We have seen it across the board in the world of sports. And I think it pays off for Kanaan and he wins an oval race in his final season. I don't necessarily think he will finish better in the championship, I actually think he will finish worse than seventh. I don't think he can match his 2016 level of consistency especially with the Honda aero package.
Charlie Kimball - #83 Tresiba Honda
If Scott Dixon had the most successful disappointing season, Charlie Kimball had the most exciting boring season in 2016. Kimball had 11 top ten finishes, tied with Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Sébastien Bourdais and Dixon for third-most. The month of May was the high point of his season as Kimball finished fifth in both Indianapolis races and was nipped by 0.0255 seconds by Kanaan for fourth in the Indianapolis 500. He had one finish outside the top fifteen, which was 16th in the second Belle Isle race. He technically didn't retire from a race a but his lone did not finish was the season opener at St. Petersburg when he spun entering turn one on the final lap and parked in the barriers and he still finished tenth in that race.
Numbers to Remember:
2,066: Laps completed in 2016 out of 2,070, most in IndyCar.
15: Consecutive finishes, second-best active streak in IndyCar (Marco Andretti, 17).
100: IndyCar starts in Kimball's career.
Predictions/Goals:
Kimball has to do nothing different and change everything at the same time. He needs to keep his consistency but be in more competitive positions. If he can do that then he has a shot to be a championship contender. With the switch to Honda, I don't think Kimball will get 11 top ten finishes again but I think he will get at least seven top ten finishes, completes at least 93.5% of all laps contested and Kimball will be just outside the top ten of the championship.
The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season opener, the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will take place on Sunday March 12th at 12:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
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