Two seasons come to a close this weekend and one championship will be crowned. Meanwhile, two seasons will be entering their penultimate rounds. Formula One remains in the Americas and heads south to Interlagos. NASCAR heads southwest to Phoenix and four drivers will be eliminated from championship contention while four drivers will advance with a shot at the title. Super GT ends at Motegi and World Rally ends in Wales.
NASCAR
The penultimate round of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season will take place from Phoenix International Raceway. Jeff Gordon is the lone driver locked in as championship eligible for the season finale after his victory at Martinsville. Jimmie Johnson won at Texas, meaning at least two drivers will qualify for the season finale on points.
Kyle Busch is the top driver on points with 4,080. He is one point ahead of Kevin Harvick and current bubble driver Martin Truex, Jr. is four points behind Busch. Seven points behind Truex, Jr. and the first on the outside looking in is Carl Edwards. Brad Keselowski led 312 of 334 laps at Texas but was passed by Jimmie Johnson with four laps to go, taking a Chase spot away from the Penske driver. Kurt Busch trails Truex, Jr. by 28 points and Joey Logano trails by 63 points. Logano has to win the race to be championship eligible at the season finale.
Five of the eight Chase drivers have won at Phoenix. Kevin Harvick is the all-time leader in victories at Phoenix with seven, including the last four races at the one-mile oval. The last driver not named Kevin Harvick to win at Phoenix was Carl Edwards and he has two victories at Phoenix, as does Jeff Gordon. The Busch brothers each have one victory at Phoenix and both of them won in 2005, splitting the first year Phoenix had two Cup races. Kurt won the spring race and Kyle won in autumn.
Martin Truex, Jr. has one top five, seven top tens and a pole position in 19 starts at Phoenix. He finished seventh in the spring race back in March. After failing to finish in the top ten in his first five starts at Phoenix, Brad Keselowski has six top tens in his last seven Phoenix starts and his worst finish is 11th in that time frame. Four of those finishes were top tens. Joey Logano has two top fives and seven top tens in 13 starts at Phoenix, including starting and finishing in the top ten in the last four Phoenix races.
Jimmie Johnson has the top average finish amongst active drivers at Phoenix. His average finish is 7.8 and he has four victories at the track. Five other non-Chase drivers have won at Phoenix. They are Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin.
Formula One
The penultimate round of the 2015 Formula One season will be the Brazilian Grand Prix from Interlagos.
Lewis Hamilton has the world championship locked up and he is still looking for his first Brazilian Grand Prix victory. In his previous eight starts, Hamilton has two podiums at Interlagos. Nico Rosberg is the defending Brazilian Grand Prix winner and he is looking to tie Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel for most Brazilian Grand Prix victories among active drivers. Rosberg is also looking to become the first driver to win consecutive Brazilian Grand Prix since Juan Pablo Montoya won the race in 2004 and 2005. Rosberg has a 21-point advantage over Sebastian Vettel for second in the championship after Vettel retired at Mexico City.
Valtteri Bottas has 126 points and is three ahead of fellow Finn Kimi Räikkönen. The two came together at Mexico City, which ended Räikkönen's race. Felipe Massa is nine points behind his Williams teammate. Daniil Kvyat has 88 points and is four ahead of his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Sergio Pérez has 68 points in ninth and Max Verstappen rounds out the top ten with 47 points. Romain Grosjean is two points behind Verstappan with Nico Hülkenberg a point behind Grosjean.
Felipe Nasr has 27 points, one ahead of Pastor Maldonado. Carlos Sainz, Jr. has 18 points and is two ahead of Jenson Button with Fernando Alonso a further five points back. Marcus Ericsson sits on nine points. Alexander Rossi and Will Stevens have yet to score for Manor. This will be Rossi's final race of the 2015 season. The American will be on GP2 duty for the next two week. He will run at Bahrain next weekend at the FIA WEC weekend, a make-up round for the German weekend being cancelled and the GP2 season finale is at Abu Dhabi. Rossi is looking to wrap up second in the GP2 championship.
Super GT – GT500
The 2015 Super GT season ends this weekend at Twin Ring Motegi. Six teams are still championship eligible for the GT500 championship.
The #12 Calsonic Team Impul Nissan GT-R of João Paulo de Oliveira and Hironobu Yasuda lead with 66 points but they have yet to score a race victory this season but have four podiums in seven races. Both drivers are going for their first championships in Super GT. The #1 NISMO Nissan GT-R of Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda are two points behind the #12 Nissan and looking for their second consecutive title. The #1 Nissan has two victories this season, including the most recent round at Autopolis. Quintarelli is looking for his fourth title in five years.
Super Formula champion Hiroaki Ishiura looks to double-down on championships as he and his #38 Lexus Team Zent Cerumo teammate Yuji Tachikawa trail the #12 Nissan by 13 points. The #38 Lexus has three podiums this season. Ishiura won the 2007 GT300 championship and could join Pedro de la Rosa, Satoshi Motoyama and Richard Lyons as drivers who won a Super GT and Super Formula/Formula Nippon in the same year. Tachikawa is going for his fourth Super GT championship. The #46 MOLA Nissan GT-R of Satoshi Motoyama and Masataka Yanagida are fourth, 16 points back. Motoyama is going for his fourth Super GT title while Yanagida is going for his fifth Super GT, third in GT500. Motoyama and Yanagida won at Buriram.
The #100 Team Kunimitsu Honda NSX-GT of Naoki Yamamoto and Takuya Izawa and the #36 Lexus Team Petronas TOM's Lexus RC F of Daisuke Itō and James Rossiter are tied for fifth, 17 points behind the #12 Nissan. The #100 Honda won at Sportsland SUGO with the #36 Lexus winning the Suzuka 1000km. Yamamoto, Izawa and Rossiter are all going for their first titles while Itō won the 2007 GT500 title.
Super GT – GT300
In GT300, the title has already been decided. André Couto clinched the title at Autopolis with a second place finish. Couto is twenty points clear of his #10 Gainer Nissan GT-R co-driver Katsumasa Chiyo.
The #3 NDDP Racing with B-Max Nissan GT-R of Kazuki Hoshino and Mitsunori Takaboshi have won two races and are third on 61 points, 12 points clear of the #31 apr Toyota Prius GT of Yuichi Nakayama and Koki Saga. Seiji Ara and Jörg Müller are on 45 points and are looking for their first victory of 2015 in the #7 Studie BMW Z4 GT3.
The #55 Team Aguri Honda CR-Z of Takashi Kobayashi and Shinichi Takagi and the #11 Gainer Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3 of Björn Wirdheim and Katsuyuki Hiranaka are tied on 41 points. The #55 Honda won at Fuji while the #11 Mercedes looks to close out their season with a victory.
World Rally
The final round of the 2015 World Rally Championship season is a dead rubber.
Sébastien Ogier already has the world championship locked up but the Frenchman has failed to finish in the point in the last two rounds, the first time he has failed to score in consecutive rallies since 2012. Ogier has not failed to finish in the points in three consecutive rounds since he failed to score in the final two rounds of the 2011 season and the first two rounds of the 2012 season. Ogier has won the last two Wales Rally GBs.
Jari-Matti Latvala is second in the championship and the Finn has finished first or second in the last five races. He is 26 points ahead of Volkswagen teammate Andreas Mikkelsen. The Norwegian scored his first rally victory at Catalunya in the last round after Ogier had an accident on the final stage. Latvala is a two-time Wales Rally GB winner.
Citroën drivers Mads Østberg and Kris Meeke round out the top five in the championship. Østberg has 110 points with Meeke on 94 points. Meeke won Rally Argentina earlier this season and he is looking to become the first British driver to win Wales Rally GB since Richard Burns won in 2000.
Thierry Neuville has 90 points with Elfyn Evans nine points behind him. Dani Sordo is coming off a third in Catalunya and is on 77 points. Hayden Paddon is three points behind Sordo with Estonian Ott Tänak rounds out the top ten on 63 points.
Over/Unders
1. Over or Under: 0.5 Chase drivers finishing a lap down?
2. Over or Under: 4.5 retirements in the Brazilian Grand Prix?
3. Over or Under: 70.5 years being the combined age of the winners in GT500 at Motegi?
4. Over or Under: 1.5 podium finishers in GT300 coming from outside the top three starters?
5. Over or Under: 2.5 Scandinavian drivers in the top five at Wales Rally GB?
Last Week's Over/Unders
1. Over: Valentino Rossi went from 26th to 4th. Twenty-two spots gained.
2. Under: The margin of victory in the Moto3 race from Valencia was 0.198.
3. Over: Naoki Yamamoto won race two at Suzuka, giving Honda a podium on the weekend.
4. Over: Three top ten finishers in Putrajaya started outside the top ten.
5. Over: Four Chevrolets finished in the top seven at Texas.
Predictions
1. One of the four drivers on the outside looking in entering Phoenix will be championship eligible at Homestead.
2. A car will retire while running in the top three.
3. The GT500 champion will have a race victory.
4. A non-Japanese manufacture will win the GT300 race at Motegi.
5. Three British drivers finish in the points.
Last Week's Predictions
1. At least two riders outside the top sixteen in the MotoGP championship score points at Valencia (Wrong. Michele Pirro was the only one from outside the top 16 to score at Valencia).
2. Miguel Oliveira finishes ahead of Danny Kent but does not win the Moto3 championship (Correct. Oliveira won, Kent finished ninth and took the title).
3. André Lotterer wins at least one race at Suzuka (Correct. Lotterer won race one).
4. A driver scores their first career Formula E podium in Putrajaya (Correct. Robin Frijns crabbed to a third place finish in his second career start).
5. A Chase driver is involved in a caution at Texas (Correct. Joey Logano brought out a caution).
Overall: 4/5 Running Tally: 26/50
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Wednesday Wrap-Up: Chip Ganassi Racing's 2015 Season
The final Wednesday Wrap-Up has brought us to the championships winning team, Chip Ganassi Racing. Only one of the teams drivers won a race in 2015 but in a year when no team dominated, no team took the title by the throat and ran away with it, three wins is all the team needed for their best driver to take the title on the final day of the season.
Scott Dixon
It was a tough start to the 2015 season for Scott Dixon. Pneumatic jack problems at St. Petersburg cost Dixon a decent finish as lengthy pit stops always dropped him to the rear of the field. He had to start at the back at NOLA and he could only manage an 11th place finish. He would score his first career Grand Prix of Long Beach victory in the third race of the season. He used pit strategy to jump Hélio Castroneves for the lead. Dixon kept up his perfect attendance of Barber podiums as he finished third behind Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal.
He was punted in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis by Castroneves on lap one and was set behind the eight ball when the race restarted after only two laps of caution. Dixon would recover a tenth place finish. Dixon won his second career Indianapolis 500 pole-position and led 84 of 200 laps, more than any other driver. However, the Penskes of Juan Pablo Montoya and Will Power drove away and Dixon even slipped behind Charlie Kimball, dropping Dixon to fourth. He botched the tire strategy in Belle Isle 1 but finished fifth. In the second race at Belle Isle, Dixon was in the top ten when contact with Kimball would end his day.
He started the second half of the season with a victory at Texas. Dixon led the most laps (97) from seventh on the grid and won by over seven seconds to Tony Kanaan in second. He also lapped up to sixth position in the race. A subtle eighth place in Toronto and sixth at Fontana would follow his Texas victory. He would cap off the third quarter of the IndyCar season with a sixth at Milwaukee.
Scott Dixon owns Mid-Ohio. He started on pole position and led the first 22 laps before needing to pit under caution. He dropped back while Juan Pablo Montoya dominated the second third of the race and it appeared Dixon would lose a hefty margin to Montoya in the championship. However, Sage Karam spun right after Dixon made his final pit stop and Montoya was caught out. Dixon ended up finishing fourth while Montoya couldn't get back inside the top ten. While many had some type of issue at Pocono, Dixon brought the car home in ninth and kept his championship hopes alive. At Sonoma, Dixon started ninth and four championship contenders started in front of him. Dixon worked his way to the front while the other championship contenders faltered. His Ganassi teammates worked in Dixon's best interest. His pit crew made up ground in the pit lane and Dixon got to the lead, making Montoya chase down the title. Montoya got even with Dixon but Dixon took the checkered flag first and in doing so, took the tiebreaker and won his fourth IndyCar championship.
Tony Kanaan
The 2004 IndyCar champion was the top non-Penske driver at the season opener in St. Petersburg. The Brazilian finished third but couldn't challenge the Penske contingent at the front. At NOLA, Kanaan went off-roading but still managed a sixth place finish. He finished fifth at Long Beach but his streak of top tens would end at Barber when he came home in 13th.
He kept his nose clean in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and had a notable battle with Stefano Coletti with Kanaan finishing seventh. He started fourth in the Indianapolis 500 and was at the front, contending for the victory until one pit stop. Until he got caught out on cold tires and his race ended with 49 laps to go. There was no rebound at Belle Isle. He was collateral damage when James Jakes and Coletti made contact that also took out Graham Rahal. He finished on the lead lap in race two but started and finished 13th and was a non-factor.
The rebound would occur at Texas and it would start a pattern in the third quarter of the season. He led 57 laps and had a good battle with Scott Dixon before the Kiwi pulled away. Kanaan would come home in second in a Ganassi 1-2. At Toronto, Kanaan finished sixth after hanging around in the top ten all race. His return to Fontana would see him fall short of making it consecutive victories at the track as Rahal took the win and Kanaan came home in second. He ran at the front all day at Milwaukee but could only settle for sixth.
Kanaan had another great race going at Iowa. Only this time, mechanical gremlins ended his night, a theme for Ganassi in the Hawkeye State. He benefitted from Sage Karam's caution at Mid-Ohio and ended up finishing in the top five. Kanaan's poor track record at Pocono continued. Another race where he found himself at the front, another result that didn't match. He, like many, found the barrier at Pocono. Kanaan worked his way to the front at Sonoma and ran block for Dixon, making sure he put himself between Dixon and the Penskes of Juan Pablo Montoya and Will Power. It worked and he finished fourth.
Charlie Kimball
The American's season started rough. A tire rub and contact with Graham Rahal with a wounded car buried his race and put him down in 21st. However, it was all up hill from there for Kimball. A 14th at NOLA followed with a slight dip at his home race of Long Beach where he finished 15th after starting 15th. At Barber, he started 11th and finished 12th, just ahead of Tony Kanaan.
He started 14th in both Indianapolis races. In the Grand Prix, Kimball worked his way to the front and finished fifth. In the Indianapolis 500, Kimball worked his way into the top ten and benefitted from Tony Kanaan's accident. He was the leader because of the pit cycle and was on the pit lane when the accident occurred. He exited just before Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon and Juan Pablo Montoya came by on the front straightaway. Kimball would lead ten laps and fell back on the restart but would comeback and work his way to third passing Dixon along the way.
He slapped the barrier in race one from Belle Isle and he took out Dixon in race two but ended up finishing 11th. He ran in the top ten all race at Texas after qualifying ninth, a rare feat to see Kimball start in the top ten, and finished seventh. A 20th at Toronto was followed by an eighth at Fontana and 12th at Milwaukee.
The final quarter of the season did not go well for Kimball He had an accident at Iowa and finished 22rd. At Mid-Ohio, he qualified sixth but two spins but him three laps down and he finished 23rd. At Pocono, Kimball had to overcome an accident that had him graze the catch fence exiting turn three and contact damage from an incident with Jack Hawksworth during the race. Due to attrition, he finished 12th but retired, seven laps down. In the season finale, Kimball started seventh and ran up front. He worked his was on to the podium to close out the season.
Sage Karam
The rookie had an up and down first season in IndyCar. Sage Karam's first three races were disappointing. He finished a lap down in the first two races and at Barber, he started 12th but faded to 18th, matching his best finish in the first three races. After sitting out the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Karam returned to the Indianapolis 500 a year after a spectacular rookie driver that arguably was worthy of Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors. He improved his starting position by ten spots in 2015, rolling off from the outside of row seven but he didn't make it to the second turn of the race after Takuma Sato made contact with him exiting turn one.
At Belle Isle, Karam finished a lap down in race one in 16th and pinballed off Jack Hawksworth and Stefano Coletti in race two and was handed a penalty for his actions but ended up finishing 12th. At Texas, he started tenth but finished three laps down in 12th, a position ahead of Will Power. After missing Toronto, Karam returned for Fontana and started tenth for a second consecutive start. He faded to the back but recovered and fought his way to fifth, his first career top-five finish. He started third at Milwaukee but brushed the wall while running in the top and retired and finished 19th. Aggression paid off at Iowa for Karam. He blocked Hawksworth, he raced Ed Carpenter to the limit but he didn't go over it and finished third, his first career podium.
He had a rough weekend at Mid-Ohio. He started 19th and was never in contention. He had a suspicious spin just after his teammates Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan made pit stops and that caution caught out Juan Pablo Montoya and Will Power. The spin was questioned but Karam was absolved of any wrongdoing. Karam finally got to race at his home track, Pocono. He started 20th but worked his way through the final and found himself leading the race late. He had led seven laps when he spun exiting turn one while in the lead. That was Karam's final act in the 2015 IndyCar season.
Sebastián Saavedra
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season was Sebastián Saavedra driving five races for Chip Ganassi Racing. The Colombian driver ran four races in place of Sage Karam in the #8 Chevrolet when Automatic Fire Sprinklers sponsored the car and he ran the #17 Chevrolet in the Indianapolis 500.
At Long Beach, Saavedra made his debut for the team and started 11th and hung around the outside of the top ten all race and would finish tenth, his fourth career top ten in 57 starts. His next race would be the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Saavedra started eighth but faded to 17th in the race. In the Indianapolis 500, he started 27th and was never a contender in the race. Unfortunately, he made contact with Jack Hawksworth and then the wall and slid into the path of Stefano Coletti who hit the Colombian square in the side. Saavedra would be sidelined with a left foot contusion. His fourth race was at Toronto where he started 17th and finished 16th. He would be on the sidelines until the Sonoma season finale, where he started tenth and led 12 laps on pit cycle and would ultimately finish 13th.
What does the championship winning team need to work on?
For Scott Dixon, nothing. Nothing. If he were a football club, he would be Bayern München. He has finished in the top three of the championship nine consecutive years and has finished in the top four for the last ten championships. He is looking to make history in 2016. Dixon has won at least one IndyCar race in 11 consecutive seasons. No one has every won a race in a dozen consecutive seasons. Bobby Unser was the first to do it and his streak ended after a terrible 1977 season that saw him score one top ten in ten starts, an eighth in the season finale in Phoenix. Emerson Fittipaldi's shot at making it to a dozen ended when he broke his back at Michigan. Hélio Castroneves' streak snapped in 2011 even though he came close with two second place finishes that season at Edmonton and Sonoma.
It seems inevitable Dixon will get a dozen. His name is penciled next to Mid-Ohio. He could win any of the ovals. How many races will Dixon win next year? He is fifth all-time, one behind Al Unser, three behind Michael Andretti. History will happen in 2016. When and where is still up in the air.
I am preparing for 2016 to be Tony Kanaan's final IndyCar season. He turns 41 this New Years' Eve. He has made 310 career starts, 249 in a row. Should he start all the races on the 2016 schedule, those numbers will reach 326 and 265 respectively. He is bound to pass Michael Andretti and Al Unser on the list for most IndyCar starts. Kanaan is good. He isn't great. He can hold his own but he just doesn't have it on road and street courses to compete for the title. He can get top tens on those circuits but he can't find that extra gear to find victories on road and street circuits.
Charlie Kimball does a solid job bringing the car home in one piece and he is rewarded with a smattering of top tens with the occasional top five and podium. If Kimball could improve in qualifying, perhaps he would be in more battles for race victories and maybe he could find himself in a championship battle. While he isn't a sexy driver, he is a reliable driver. He is someone Ganassi can count on and someone I think Ganassi will be willing to keep for many years to come.
Sage Karam had a good rookie season but there is plenty of room for improvement. Ganassi seems to be uncommitted to running a fourth car in 2016 but he seems to want Karam for the long haul. Karam turns 21 in March. There is much more time ahead of him than behind him. IndyCar needs Sage Karam. He is the future. He is someone fans are drawn to, especially that younger demographic can relate to. At Pocono, he won a lot of fans over. The Andretti's might be the motorsports family of that Lehigh Valley-area but Karam could definitely carve out a fan base in that community. Especially with IndyCar returning to Pocono, Karam needs to be there and he needs to be on the grid full-time.
I didn't think Sebastián Saavedra would have ever ended up at Chip Ganassi Racing so I can't rule him out returning for a second season with the team. But once again, Ganassi hasn't been enthusiastic about a fourth car and Karam is also in the pipeline. The only advantage Saavedra has is Gary Peterson supports him with the AFS sponsorship. I don't understand what Peterson sees in Saavedra. Sixty-one starts, 0 victories, 0 podiums, 0 top fives, four top tens, one pole position that he won in the wet after the session was red flagged for a Ryan Hunter-Reay accident that ended the session. To be fair, Saavedra is only 25 and I have always pointed out that the likes of Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal are young and guys such as Dario Franchitti didn't start winning titles and Indianapolis 500s until he was 34.
The difference is Saavedra has never been there. Compare Saavedra to Josef Newgarden. Newgarden is turning 25 this Christmas Eve and has six more starts than Saavedra but Newgarden has two victories, six podiums, 11 top fives, 23 top tens and a pole position. I just don't understand why Peterson stays behind Saavedra while another driver he sponsored to an Indy Lights title JR Hildebrand is on the outside looking in and other top young drivers such as Karam, Conor Daly and Matthew Brabham struggle to get a foothold in IndyCar.
Regardless of what Ganassi does this offseason the team will be back in contention at the end of next season. Dixon will be there. Kanaan won't fade away. They will be there come the season finale at Sonoma. They are always there.
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| Scott Dixon took his fourth championship in 2015 |
It was a tough start to the 2015 season for Scott Dixon. Pneumatic jack problems at St. Petersburg cost Dixon a decent finish as lengthy pit stops always dropped him to the rear of the field. He had to start at the back at NOLA and he could only manage an 11th place finish. He would score his first career Grand Prix of Long Beach victory in the third race of the season. He used pit strategy to jump Hélio Castroneves for the lead. Dixon kept up his perfect attendance of Barber podiums as he finished third behind Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal.
He was punted in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis by Castroneves on lap one and was set behind the eight ball when the race restarted after only two laps of caution. Dixon would recover a tenth place finish. Dixon won his second career Indianapolis 500 pole-position and led 84 of 200 laps, more than any other driver. However, the Penskes of Juan Pablo Montoya and Will Power drove away and Dixon even slipped behind Charlie Kimball, dropping Dixon to fourth. He botched the tire strategy in Belle Isle 1 but finished fifth. In the second race at Belle Isle, Dixon was in the top ten when contact with Kimball would end his day.
He started the second half of the season with a victory at Texas. Dixon led the most laps (97) from seventh on the grid and won by over seven seconds to Tony Kanaan in second. He also lapped up to sixth position in the race. A subtle eighth place in Toronto and sixth at Fontana would follow his Texas victory. He would cap off the third quarter of the IndyCar season with a sixth at Milwaukee.
Scott Dixon owns Mid-Ohio. He started on pole position and led the first 22 laps before needing to pit under caution. He dropped back while Juan Pablo Montoya dominated the second third of the race and it appeared Dixon would lose a hefty margin to Montoya in the championship. However, Sage Karam spun right after Dixon made his final pit stop and Montoya was caught out. Dixon ended up finishing fourth while Montoya couldn't get back inside the top ten. While many had some type of issue at Pocono, Dixon brought the car home in ninth and kept his championship hopes alive. At Sonoma, Dixon started ninth and four championship contenders started in front of him. Dixon worked his way to the front while the other championship contenders faltered. His Ganassi teammates worked in Dixon's best interest. His pit crew made up ground in the pit lane and Dixon got to the lead, making Montoya chase down the title. Montoya got even with Dixon but Dixon took the checkered flag first and in doing so, took the tiebreaker and won his fourth IndyCar championship.
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| A solid season but not a spectacular season for Tony Kanaan |
The 2004 IndyCar champion was the top non-Penske driver at the season opener in St. Petersburg. The Brazilian finished third but couldn't challenge the Penske contingent at the front. At NOLA, Kanaan went off-roading but still managed a sixth place finish. He finished fifth at Long Beach but his streak of top tens would end at Barber when he came home in 13th.
He kept his nose clean in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and had a notable battle with Stefano Coletti with Kanaan finishing seventh. He started fourth in the Indianapolis 500 and was at the front, contending for the victory until one pit stop. Until he got caught out on cold tires and his race ended with 49 laps to go. There was no rebound at Belle Isle. He was collateral damage when James Jakes and Coletti made contact that also took out Graham Rahal. He finished on the lead lap in race two but started and finished 13th and was a non-factor.
The rebound would occur at Texas and it would start a pattern in the third quarter of the season. He led 57 laps and had a good battle with Scott Dixon before the Kiwi pulled away. Kanaan would come home in second in a Ganassi 1-2. At Toronto, Kanaan finished sixth after hanging around in the top ten all race. His return to Fontana would see him fall short of making it consecutive victories at the track as Rahal took the win and Kanaan came home in second. He ran at the front all day at Milwaukee but could only settle for sixth.
Kanaan had another great race going at Iowa. Only this time, mechanical gremlins ended his night, a theme for Ganassi in the Hawkeye State. He benefitted from Sage Karam's caution at Mid-Ohio and ended up finishing in the top five. Kanaan's poor track record at Pocono continued. Another race where he found himself at the front, another result that didn't match. He, like many, found the barrier at Pocono. Kanaan worked his way to the front at Sonoma and ran block for Dixon, making sure he put himself between Dixon and the Penskes of Juan Pablo Montoya and Will Power. It worked and he finished fourth.
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| Charlie Kimball had a Charlie Kimball-esque season |
The American's season started rough. A tire rub and contact with Graham Rahal with a wounded car buried his race and put him down in 21st. However, it was all up hill from there for Kimball. A 14th at NOLA followed with a slight dip at his home race of Long Beach where he finished 15th after starting 15th. At Barber, he started 11th and finished 12th, just ahead of Tony Kanaan.
He started 14th in both Indianapolis races. In the Grand Prix, Kimball worked his way to the front and finished fifth. In the Indianapolis 500, Kimball worked his way into the top ten and benefitted from Tony Kanaan's accident. He was the leader because of the pit cycle and was on the pit lane when the accident occurred. He exited just before Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon and Juan Pablo Montoya came by on the front straightaway. Kimball would lead ten laps and fell back on the restart but would comeback and work his way to third passing Dixon along the way.
He slapped the barrier in race one from Belle Isle and he took out Dixon in race two but ended up finishing 11th. He ran in the top ten all race at Texas after qualifying ninth, a rare feat to see Kimball start in the top ten, and finished seventh. A 20th at Toronto was followed by an eighth at Fontana and 12th at Milwaukee.
The final quarter of the season did not go well for Kimball He had an accident at Iowa and finished 22rd. At Mid-Ohio, he qualified sixth but two spins but him three laps down and he finished 23rd. At Pocono, Kimball had to overcome an accident that had him graze the catch fence exiting turn three and contact damage from an incident with Jack Hawksworth during the race. Due to attrition, he finished 12th but retired, seven laps down. In the season finale, Kimball started seventh and ran up front. He worked his was on to the podium to close out the season.
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| Sage Karam's rookie season had bright spots and dark spots |
The rookie had an up and down first season in IndyCar. Sage Karam's first three races were disappointing. He finished a lap down in the first two races and at Barber, he started 12th but faded to 18th, matching his best finish in the first three races. After sitting out the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Karam returned to the Indianapolis 500 a year after a spectacular rookie driver that arguably was worthy of Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors. He improved his starting position by ten spots in 2015, rolling off from the outside of row seven but he didn't make it to the second turn of the race after Takuma Sato made contact with him exiting turn one.
At Belle Isle, Karam finished a lap down in race one in 16th and pinballed off Jack Hawksworth and Stefano Coletti in race two and was handed a penalty for his actions but ended up finishing 12th. At Texas, he started tenth but finished three laps down in 12th, a position ahead of Will Power. After missing Toronto, Karam returned for Fontana and started tenth for a second consecutive start. He faded to the back but recovered and fought his way to fifth, his first career top-five finish. He started third at Milwaukee but brushed the wall while running in the top and retired and finished 19th. Aggression paid off at Iowa for Karam. He blocked Hawksworth, he raced Ed Carpenter to the limit but he didn't go over it and finished third, his first career podium.
He had a rough weekend at Mid-Ohio. He started 19th and was never in contention. He had a suspicious spin just after his teammates Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan made pit stops and that caution caught out Juan Pablo Montoya and Will Power. The spin was questioned but Karam was absolved of any wrongdoing. Karam finally got to race at his home track, Pocono. He started 20th but worked his way through the final and found himself leading the race late. He had led seven laps when he spun exiting turn one while in the lead. That was Karam's final act in the 2015 IndyCar season.
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| Sebastián Saavedra drove for Ganassi. Never thought you'd hear that did you? |
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season was Sebastián Saavedra driving five races for Chip Ganassi Racing. The Colombian driver ran four races in place of Sage Karam in the #8 Chevrolet when Automatic Fire Sprinklers sponsored the car and he ran the #17 Chevrolet in the Indianapolis 500.
At Long Beach, Saavedra made his debut for the team and started 11th and hung around the outside of the top ten all race and would finish tenth, his fourth career top ten in 57 starts. His next race would be the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Saavedra started eighth but faded to 17th in the race. In the Indianapolis 500, he started 27th and was never a contender in the race. Unfortunately, he made contact with Jack Hawksworth and then the wall and slid into the path of Stefano Coletti who hit the Colombian square in the side. Saavedra would be sidelined with a left foot contusion. His fourth race was at Toronto where he started 17th and finished 16th. He would be on the sidelines until the Sonoma season finale, where he started tenth and led 12 laps on pit cycle and would ultimately finish 13th.
What does the championship winning team need to work on?
For Scott Dixon, nothing. Nothing. If he were a football club, he would be Bayern München. He has finished in the top three of the championship nine consecutive years and has finished in the top four for the last ten championships. He is looking to make history in 2016. Dixon has won at least one IndyCar race in 11 consecutive seasons. No one has every won a race in a dozen consecutive seasons. Bobby Unser was the first to do it and his streak ended after a terrible 1977 season that saw him score one top ten in ten starts, an eighth in the season finale in Phoenix. Emerson Fittipaldi's shot at making it to a dozen ended when he broke his back at Michigan. Hélio Castroneves' streak snapped in 2011 even though he came close with two second place finishes that season at Edmonton and Sonoma.
It seems inevitable Dixon will get a dozen. His name is penciled next to Mid-Ohio. He could win any of the ovals. How many races will Dixon win next year? He is fifth all-time, one behind Al Unser, three behind Michael Andretti. History will happen in 2016. When and where is still up in the air.
I am preparing for 2016 to be Tony Kanaan's final IndyCar season. He turns 41 this New Years' Eve. He has made 310 career starts, 249 in a row. Should he start all the races on the 2016 schedule, those numbers will reach 326 and 265 respectively. He is bound to pass Michael Andretti and Al Unser on the list for most IndyCar starts. Kanaan is good. He isn't great. He can hold his own but he just doesn't have it on road and street courses to compete for the title. He can get top tens on those circuits but he can't find that extra gear to find victories on road and street circuits.
Charlie Kimball does a solid job bringing the car home in one piece and he is rewarded with a smattering of top tens with the occasional top five and podium. If Kimball could improve in qualifying, perhaps he would be in more battles for race victories and maybe he could find himself in a championship battle. While he isn't a sexy driver, he is a reliable driver. He is someone Ganassi can count on and someone I think Ganassi will be willing to keep for many years to come.
Sage Karam had a good rookie season but there is plenty of room for improvement. Ganassi seems to be uncommitted to running a fourth car in 2016 but he seems to want Karam for the long haul. Karam turns 21 in March. There is much more time ahead of him than behind him. IndyCar needs Sage Karam. He is the future. He is someone fans are drawn to, especially that younger demographic can relate to. At Pocono, he won a lot of fans over. The Andretti's might be the motorsports family of that Lehigh Valley-area but Karam could definitely carve out a fan base in that community. Especially with IndyCar returning to Pocono, Karam needs to be there and he needs to be on the grid full-time.
I didn't think Sebastián Saavedra would have ever ended up at Chip Ganassi Racing so I can't rule him out returning for a second season with the team. But once again, Ganassi hasn't been enthusiastic about a fourth car and Karam is also in the pipeline. The only advantage Saavedra has is Gary Peterson supports him with the AFS sponsorship. I don't understand what Peterson sees in Saavedra. Sixty-one starts, 0 victories, 0 podiums, 0 top fives, four top tens, one pole position that he won in the wet after the session was red flagged for a Ryan Hunter-Reay accident that ended the session. To be fair, Saavedra is only 25 and I have always pointed out that the likes of Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal are young and guys such as Dario Franchitti didn't start winning titles and Indianapolis 500s until he was 34.
The difference is Saavedra has never been there. Compare Saavedra to Josef Newgarden. Newgarden is turning 25 this Christmas Eve and has six more starts than Saavedra but Newgarden has two victories, six podiums, 11 top fives, 23 top tens and a pole position. I just don't understand why Peterson stays behind Saavedra while another driver he sponsored to an Indy Lights title JR Hildebrand is on the outside looking in and other top young drivers such as Karam, Conor Daly and Matthew Brabham struggle to get a foothold in IndyCar.
Regardless of what Ganassi does this offseason the team will be back in contention at the end of next season. Dixon will be there. Kanaan won't fade away. They will be there come the season finale at Sonoma. They are always there.
Monday, November 9, 2015
Musings From the Weekend: Who is the Best American Driver Today?
There were many thrilling races this weekend in the world of motorsports and three champions crowned. Reliable beat speed in Putrajaya in what is arguably one of the races of the year. Valentino Rossi made a gallant effort in Valencia. Heavy rain fell in Suzuka. There were a lot of tire failures at Texas. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
Who is the Best American Driver?
Ryan Hunter-Reay will compete in his third consecutive Race of Champions on November 20-21st at London's Olympic Stadium. In the press release from Race of Champions, it is noted that Hunter-Reay is "the most successful American driver currently racing in open-wheel competition in the world today"with more victories than any other active American in open-wheel competition. Hunter-Reay has an IndyCar championship, he has a Indianapolis 500 victory and is sixth amongst active IndyCar drivers in victories and tied for 27th all-time with Dan Wheldon on 16 victories.
But is Ryan Hunter-Reay the best American driver today?
When people ask what the pinnacle of motorsports the majority is going to say Formula One and that is a very valid answer. Alexander Rossi is the lone American on the Formula One grid. If Formula One were the pinnacle of motorsports and if Alexander Rossi is the lone American on the grid, then wouldn't he be considered the best American driver today?
Despite Rossi's success in GP2 and respectable results in the handful of Formula One starts he has made, I don't think many would consider him the best American driver as we speak.
It's a tough question for the American motorsports community as it is a very divided and territorial. IndyCar fans are going to shoot down any NASCAR driver. NASCAR fans believe there drivers are hands down the best in the world. Sports car fans will make their arguments for any one of a dozen drivers. Dirt track fans will rally that there is nothing more difficult than riding the cushion.
I don't think there is a more diverse talent pool then that of American motorsport. While other countries may have an easier time selecting who the best driver is, many talented drivers will be forgotten. For the United Kingdom, it's pretty obvious that Lewis Hamilton would be considered it's best driver. Same for Germany and Sebastian Vettel and Spain with Fernando Alonso. But think about André Lotterer, who has won many races in sports cars and Super Formula. If Felipe Massa is considered the best Brazilian just because he was in Formula One, the likes of Lucas di Grassi, Hélio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Cacá Bueno would be left out and they all have valid arguments for being considered.
The United States isn't the only country that would have a difficult time selecting its best driver. What about Australia? Mark Webber has won in Formula One and is in position for a world championship in FIA WEC but Will Power has had a very respectable career in the United States and Jamie Whincup has more V8 Supercars championships and second most victories in the series. Craig Lowndes broke the century mark in V8SC race victories earlier this year and won his sixth Bathurst 1000 last month. What about Belgium? Stoffel Vandoorne has clinched the GP2 title and everyone believes he should be in Formula One next year but in the GT ranks, Laurens Vanthoor has won a few titles and is constant threat for victory in any race he enters.
To get back on point, who is the best American driver? There is no right answer. Last year, Robby Gordon ran Race of Champions and defeated Tom Kristensen. No one would consider Robby Gordon the best American driver today or better than Kristensen but it just goes to show that many drivers could be in the discussion, including those we infrequently mention.
Now who will partner with Ryan Hunter-Reay this year at Race of Champions? It would be cool to see Hunter-Reay pair with his brother-in-law, Robby Gordon. I suggested Matt Kenseth skip the final NASCAR race and get some much needed rest and relaxation and spend the week in London instead of having to deal with a million questions at Homestead. I wouldn't mind if Alexander Rossi did it though. He has had a great 2015 and it would be a nice reward for him, although he just said goodbye to London so either he hasn't been asked yet or declined the invitation. We will have to wait and see.
From Japan
Speaking of Stoffel Vandoorne, the GP2 champion will be testing a Super Formula car later this month and the McLaren development driver is rumored to run in the Japanese-based series in 2016 as McLaren will retain both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button for the 2016 Formula One season.
While the Belgian says he thinks Super Formula would prepare him the best for the high downforce of Formula One, this potential move should have IndyCar questioning themselves and their place in the motorsports landscape. It wasn't that long along that the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya, Bruno Junqueira and Sébastien Bourdais were coming over to the United States fresh off International Formula 3000 championships, which was the predecessor to GP2. Heck, Timo Glock came over and ran a season in Champ Car before heading back to Europe and winning the GP2 crown and getting a ride with Toyota.
I admire Super Formula and I hope someday Super Formula and IndyCar can form a beautiful Pan-Pacific open-wheel relationship that sees a shared chassis and engine formula with teams and drivers coming over from Japan to attempt the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar teams and drivers returning the favor and returning to the Land of the Rising Sun. But what should really make IndyCar perk up their ears is that Vandoorne isn't just choosing Super Formula. Rather he is being directed there. His move to Super Formula is because of Honda. What does that say about how Honda views their racing properties? What does that say about the state of IndyCar?
While Honda may view Super Formula as more important than IndyCar, let's not forget that IndyCar isn't the easiest series to deal with and with teams struggle to make the grid each year, it might more hassle than it should be to try and get Vandoorne in a ride. With Super Formula, it appears to be easier for Honda to put Vandoorne in a ride than putting him in an IndyCar ride. While Vandoorne seems ready to run Super Formula next year, let's point out that Honda's track record in Super Formula is worse than their track record in IndyCar. Honda has struggled to keep up with Toyota in Super Formula. Honda won one of eight races in Super Formula this season and that victory was the final race of the season. Last year, Honda won one of nine Super Formula races and in 2013 Honda won two of seven. If anything, IndyCar should be higher on Honda's depth chart than Super Formula considering it's the series they are more competitive in.
I would love to see the Belgian in IndyCar and who knows? Maybe Honda can negotiate a test for him with Andretti. Andretti was working on a fourth car for Justin Wilson in 2016 and that would be Vandoorne's best option if he were to come to IndyCar. However, I think Vandoorne will be competing in Japan next year. Unless the Formula One regulations change and allow for teams to run a third car; then I expect him to be partnered with Alonso and Button.
More From Japan
1. Super Formula gets me. The first race at Suzuka started at 10:00 a.m. local time in Suzuka. That is a prime brunch hour. And for those on the East Coast of the United States, that was an 8:00 p.m. ET start. Who says American series can't race in Japan? They just need to take advantage of Japanese brunch time.
2. Quick sidebar: Do people in Japan have brunch? If so, what is it like? Is it just like American brunch where it's a mix of waffles and pancakes with sides of pork loin?
3. I am offering Super Formula $50 for the television and streaming rights to the series in the United States. I couldn't even find a "questionable" feed for the races this weekend. There are a lot of talented drivers in that series, the equipment is pretty good and I would like to bring it to the eyes and ears of the American people.
4. Yokohama is replacing Bridgestone as the tire supplier in Super Formula starting next season. I find that interesting. Bridgestone has pulled out of Formula One, this was the company's last season in MotoGP, is isn't involved in sports cars beyond Super GT in the GT500 class. What is the future of Bridgestone in motorsports and what does it mean for Firestone in IndyCar? Remember, Firestone wasn't keen on returning to IndyCar not that long ago and has pulled out of Indy Lights. It is just something for you to think about on this Monday.
Champions From the Weekend
Jorge Lorenzo won his third MotoGP championship with his victory at Valencia.
Hiroaki Ishiura won the Super Formula championship with a second to André Lotterer in race one from Suzuka and fourth in race two while Naoki Yamamoto won the race.
Danny Kent won the Moto3 championship with a ninth at Valencia while his championship rival Miguel Oliveira took the race victory.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Lucas di Grassi, Jorge Lorenzo, Miguel Oliveira and what happened at Suzuka but did you know...
Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Cup race from Texas, meaning at least two drivers will qualify for the final race on points.
Jamie Whincup and David Reynolds split the Saturday V8 Supercar races from Pukekohe Park Raceway. Whincup won the Sunday race as well.
The #8 Race Performance Oreca-Judd of Nicolas Leutwiler and Shinji Nakano won the Asian Le Mans Series race from Sepang. The #3 Clearwater Racing McLaren 650S GT3 of Weng Sun Mok, Rob Bell and Keita Sawa won in GT. The #21 Avelon Formula Wolf Racing GB08 of Denis Lian and Giorgio Maggi won in CN. The #1 DC Racing Ligier JSP3-Nissan of David Cheng, Ho-Pin Tung and Thomas Laurent won in LMP3.
Esteve Rabat won the Moto2 race from Valencia in his return after missing the Asia-Pacific swing due to an injury in practice at Motegi. Moto2 champion Johann Zarco finished seventh.
Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Grand National Series race at Texas. Erik Jones won the Truck race.
Coming Up This Weekend
The penultimate round of the Formula One season: The Brazilian Grand Prix.
The penultimate round of the NASCAR season: Phoenix.
The season finale for the Super GT season: Motegi.
The season finale for World Rally Championship: Wales Rally GB.
Who is the Best American Driver?
Ryan Hunter-Reay will compete in his third consecutive Race of Champions on November 20-21st at London's Olympic Stadium. In the press release from Race of Champions, it is noted that Hunter-Reay is "the most successful American driver currently racing in open-wheel competition in the world today"with more victories than any other active American in open-wheel competition. Hunter-Reay has an IndyCar championship, he has a Indianapolis 500 victory and is sixth amongst active IndyCar drivers in victories and tied for 27th all-time with Dan Wheldon on 16 victories.
But is Ryan Hunter-Reay the best American driver today?
When people ask what the pinnacle of motorsports the majority is going to say Formula One and that is a very valid answer. Alexander Rossi is the lone American on the Formula One grid. If Formula One were the pinnacle of motorsports and if Alexander Rossi is the lone American on the grid, then wouldn't he be considered the best American driver today?
Despite Rossi's success in GP2 and respectable results in the handful of Formula One starts he has made, I don't think many would consider him the best American driver as we speak.
It's a tough question for the American motorsports community as it is a very divided and territorial. IndyCar fans are going to shoot down any NASCAR driver. NASCAR fans believe there drivers are hands down the best in the world. Sports car fans will make their arguments for any one of a dozen drivers. Dirt track fans will rally that there is nothing more difficult than riding the cushion.
I don't think there is a more diverse talent pool then that of American motorsport. While other countries may have an easier time selecting who the best driver is, many talented drivers will be forgotten. For the United Kingdom, it's pretty obvious that Lewis Hamilton would be considered it's best driver. Same for Germany and Sebastian Vettel and Spain with Fernando Alonso. But think about André Lotterer, who has won many races in sports cars and Super Formula. If Felipe Massa is considered the best Brazilian just because he was in Formula One, the likes of Lucas di Grassi, Hélio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Cacá Bueno would be left out and they all have valid arguments for being considered.
The United States isn't the only country that would have a difficult time selecting its best driver. What about Australia? Mark Webber has won in Formula One and is in position for a world championship in FIA WEC but Will Power has had a very respectable career in the United States and Jamie Whincup has more V8 Supercars championships and second most victories in the series. Craig Lowndes broke the century mark in V8SC race victories earlier this year and won his sixth Bathurst 1000 last month. What about Belgium? Stoffel Vandoorne has clinched the GP2 title and everyone believes he should be in Formula One next year but in the GT ranks, Laurens Vanthoor has won a few titles and is constant threat for victory in any race he enters.
To get back on point, who is the best American driver? There is no right answer. Last year, Robby Gordon ran Race of Champions and defeated Tom Kristensen. No one would consider Robby Gordon the best American driver today or better than Kristensen but it just goes to show that many drivers could be in the discussion, including those we infrequently mention.
Now who will partner with Ryan Hunter-Reay this year at Race of Champions? It would be cool to see Hunter-Reay pair with his brother-in-law, Robby Gordon. I suggested Matt Kenseth skip the final NASCAR race and get some much needed rest and relaxation and spend the week in London instead of having to deal with a million questions at Homestead. I wouldn't mind if Alexander Rossi did it though. He has had a great 2015 and it would be a nice reward for him, although he just said goodbye to London so either he hasn't been asked yet or declined the invitation. We will have to wait and see.
From Japan
Speaking of Stoffel Vandoorne, the GP2 champion will be testing a Super Formula car later this month and the McLaren development driver is rumored to run in the Japanese-based series in 2016 as McLaren will retain both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button for the 2016 Formula One season.
While the Belgian says he thinks Super Formula would prepare him the best for the high downforce of Formula One, this potential move should have IndyCar questioning themselves and their place in the motorsports landscape. It wasn't that long along that the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya, Bruno Junqueira and Sébastien Bourdais were coming over to the United States fresh off International Formula 3000 championships, which was the predecessor to GP2. Heck, Timo Glock came over and ran a season in Champ Car before heading back to Europe and winning the GP2 crown and getting a ride with Toyota.
I admire Super Formula and I hope someday Super Formula and IndyCar can form a beautiful Pan-Pacific open-wheel relationship that sees a shared chassis and engine formula with teams and drivers coming over from Japan to attempt the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar teams and drivers returning the favor and returning to the Land of the Rising Sun. But what should really make IndyCar perk up their ears is that Vandoorne isn't just choosing Super Formula. Rather he is being directed there. His move to Super Formula is because of Honda. What does that say about how Honda views their racing properties? What does that say about the state of IndyCar?
While Honda may view Super Formula as more important than IndyCar, let's not forget that IndyCar isn't the easiest series to deal with and with teams struggle to make the grid each year, it might more hassle than it should be to try and get Vandoorne in a ride. With Super Formula, it appears to be easier for Honda to put Vandoorne in a ride than putting him in an IndyCar ride. While Vandoorne seems ready to run Super Formula next year, let's point out that Honda's track record in Super Formula is worse than their track record in IndyCar. Honda has struggled to keep up with Toyota in Super Formula. Honda won one of eight races in Super Formula this season and that victory was the final race of the season. Last year, Honda won one of nine Super Formula races and in 2013 Honda won two of seven. If anything, IndyCar should be higher on Honda's depth chart than Super Formula considering it's the series they are more competitive in.
I would love to see the Belgian in IndyCar and who knows? Maybe Honda can negotiate a test for him with Andretti. Andretti was working on a fourth car for Justin Wilson in 2016 and that would be Vandoorne's best option if he were to come to IndyCar. However, I think Vandoorne will be competing in Japan next year. Unless the Formula One regulations change and allow for teams to run a third car; then I expect him to be partnered with Alonso and Button.
More From Japan
1. Super Formula gets me. The first race at Suzuka started at 10:00 a.m. local time in Suzuka. That is a prime brunch hour. And for those on the East Coast of the United States, that was an 8:00 p.m. ET start. Who says American series can't race in Japan? They just need to take advantage of Japanese brunch time.
2. Quick sidebar: Do people in Japan have brunch? If so, what is it like? Is it just like American brunch where it's a mix of waffles and pancakes with sides of pork loin?
3. I am offering Super Formula $50 for the television and streaming rights to the series in the United States. I couldn't even find a "questionable" feed for the races this weekend. There are a lot of talented drivers in that series, the equipment is pretty good and I would like to bring it to the eyes and ears of the American people.
4. Yokohama is replacing Bridgestone as the tire supplier in Super Formula starting next season. I find that interesting. Bridgestone has pulled out of Formula One, this was the company's last season in MotoGP, is isn't involved in sports cars beyond Super GT in the GT500 class. What is the future of Bridgestone in motorsports and what does it mean for Firestone in IndyCar? Remember, Firestone wasn't keen on returning to IndyCar not that long ago and has pulled out of Indy Lights. It is just something for you to think about on this Monday.
Champions From the Weekend
Jorge Lorenzo won his third MotoGP championship with his victory at Valencia.
Hiroaki Ishiura won the Super Formula championship with a second to André Lotterer in race one from Suzuka and fourth in race two while Naoki Yamamoto won the race.
Danny Kent won the Moto3 championship with a ninth at Valencia while his championship rival Miguel Oliveira took the race victory.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Lucas di Grassi, Jorge Lorenzo, Miguel Oliveira and what happened at Suzuka but did you know...
Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Cup race from Texas, meaning at least two drivers will qualify for the final race on points.
Jamie Whincup and David Reynolds split the Saturday V8 Supercar races from Pukekohe Park Raceway. Whincup won the Sunday race as well.
The #8 Race Performance Oreca-Judd of Nicolas Leutwiler and Shinji Nakano won the Asian Le Mans Series race from Sepang. The #3 Clearwater Racing McLaren 650S GT3 of Weng Sun Mok, Rob Bell and Keita Sawa won in GT. The #21 Avelon Formula Wolf Racing GB08 of Denis Lian and Giorgio Maggi won in CN. The #1 DC Racing Ligier JSP3-Nissan of David Cheng, Ho-Pin Tung and Thomas Laurent won in LMP3.
Esteve Rabat won the Moto2 race from Valencia in his return after missing the Asia-Pacific swing due to an injury in practice at Motegi. Moto2 champion Johann Zarco finished seventh.
Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Grand National Series race at Texas. Erik Jones won the Truck race.
Coming Up This Weekend
The penultimate round of the Formula One season: The Brazilian Grand Prix.
The penultimate round of the NASCAR season: Phoenix.
The season finale for the Super GT season: Motegi.
The season finale for World Rally Championship: Wales Rally GB.
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Di Grassi Wins Wild Putrajaya Round
In what has to be the wildest race in Formula E in the series short history, Lucas di Grassi took the victory after multiple cars battled mechanical failures in the heat and humidity of Putrajaya, Malaysia. The Brazilian jumped Loïc Duval during the pit cycle, putting him fourth on track behind Nelson Piquet, Jr. who still needed to stop, Nicolas Prost and António Félix da Costa. Prost stopped on lap 15 after his Renault e.dams teammate Sébastien Buemi had a sudden stop on circuit despite leading every lap to that point. The Swiss driver would get back going and head into the pit lane behind his teammate.
After Piquet, Jr. stopped, Prost led da Costa, di Grassi and Duval but had to conserve energy. The ABT Audi Sport driver passed da Costa and then Prost to take the lead. Both da Costa and Prost would suffer lurches on track, causing both drivers to lose many positions. The Dragon Racing drivers of Duval and Jérôme d'Ambrosio and Andretti's Robin Frijns were battling out for podium positions but Duval suddenly lost power and stopped on the circuit and Frijns clipped the wall after getting into the marbles but the Dutch driver was able to continue. D'Ambrosio jumped to second while Sam Bird passed both Duval and Frijns.
Lucas di Grassi would go on to take the victory by 13.9 seconds over Bird after d'Amborsio got into the barriers on the final lap. Frijns crabbed to a third place finish, his first career Formula E podium. Stéphane Sarrazin qualified second but had to be removed from the grid after his car failed to get started on the initial start. The Frenchman would overcome the start from the pit lane and finish fourth. Bruno Senna rounded out the top five with da Costa able to bring his car home in sixth.
Daniel Abt finished seventh with defending champion Nelson Piquet, Jr. scoring his first points of the season with an eighth place finish. Nick Heidfeld overcame being spun on lap one and a drive-through penalty for violating the minimum pit stop time to finish ninth with Nicolas Prost rounding out the points paying positions in tenth, despite getting into the barriers with three laps to go.
Jacques Villeneuve missed out on his first career Formula E points by finishing 11th. Buemi was 12th and picked up two points for fastest lap with his Swiss counterpart Simona de Silvestro finishing 13th. D'Ambrosio was 14th with Nathanaël Berthon rounding out the top 15 and Duval in 16th.
Oliver Turvey retired on lap five after having his throttle stick going into turn five. Jean-Éric Vergne's race ended before he completed a lap after the Frenchman made contact with Heidfeld.
With his victory, di Grassi takes the championship lead with 43 points. Buemi finished outside the top ten but gets five points (three for pole position, two for fastest lap) and trails the Brazilian by eight points. A third in the race moves Bird to third in the championship with 24 points. Heidfeld is seven behind the British driver. Frijns rounds out the top five, a point behind Heidfeld.
Sarrazin is sixth in the championship with 14 points and is two ahead of his fellow countryman Duval. Senna and d'Ambrosio are tied on ten points. Turvey and da Costa are tied on eight. Abt has six points. Berthon and Piquet, Jr. each have four and Prost sits on one points. Villeneuve, Vergne and de Silvestro have all yet to score.
In the Teams' championship, ABT Audi Sport lead with 49 points, 13 ahead of Renault e.dams. Mahindra Racing is third on 27 points, two ahead of DS Virgin Racing. Dragon Racing is fifth on 22 points with their American rivals Andretti Formula E on 16 points. Venturi has 14 points while NEXTEV TCR and Aguri are tied on 12 points.
The third round of the 2015-16 Formula E season will be on the streets of Punta del Este, Uruguay on December 19th.
After Piquet, Jr. stopped, Prost led da Costa, di Grassi and Duval but had to conserve energy. The ABT Audi Sport driver passed da Costa and then Prost to take the lead. Both da Costa and Prost would suffer lurches on track, causing both drivers to lose many positions. The Dragon Racing drivers of Duval and Jérôme d'Ambrosio and Andretti's Robin Frijns were battling out for podium positions but Duval suddenly lost power and stopped on the circuit and Frijns clipped the wall after getting into the marbles but the Dutch driver was able to continue. D'Ambrosio jumped to second while Sam Bird passed both Duval and Frijns.
Lucas di Grassi would go on to take the victory by 13.9 seconds over Bird after d'Amborsio got into the barriers on the final lap. Frijns crabbed to a third place finish, his first career Formula E podium. Stéphane Sarrazin qualified second but had to be removed from the grid after his car failed to get started on the initial start. The Frenchman would overcome the start from the pit lane and finish fourth. Bruno Senna rounded out the top five with da Costa able to bring his car home in sixth.
Daniel Abt finished seventh with defending champion Nelson Piquet, Jr. scoring his first points of the season with an eighth place finish. Nick Heidfeld overcame being spun on lap one and a drive-through penalty for violating the minimum pit stop time to finish ninth with Nicolas Prost rounding out the points paying positions in tenth, despite getting into the barriers with three laps to go.
Jacques Villeneuve missed out on his first career Formula E points by finishing 11th. Buemi was 12th and picked up two points for fastest lap with his Swiss counterpart Simona de Silvestro finishing 13th. D'Ambrosio was 14th with Nathanaël Berthon rounding out the top 15 and Duval in 16th.
Oliver Turvey retired on lap five after having his throttle stick going into turn five. Jean-Éric Vergne's race ended before he completed a lap after the Frenchman made contact with Heidfeld.
With his victory, di Grassi takes the championship lead with 43 points. Buemi finished outside the top ten but gets five points (three for pole position, two for fastest lap) and trails the Brazilian by eight points. A third in the race moves Bird to third in the championship with 24 points. Heidfeld is seven behind the British driver. Frijns rounds out the top five, a point behind Heidfeld.
Sarrazin is sixth in the championship with 14 points and is two ahead of his fellow countryman Duval. Senna and d'Ambrosio are tied on ten points. Turvey and da Costa are tied on eight. Abt has six points. Berthon and Piquet, Jr. each have four and Prost sits on one points. Villeneuve, Vergne and de Silvestro have all yet to score.
In the Teams' championship, ABT Audi Sport lead with 49 points, 13 ahead of Renault e.dams. Mahindra Racing is third on 27 points, two ahead of DS Virgin Racing. Dragon Racing is fifth on 22 points with their American rivals Andretti Formula E on 16 points. Venturi has 14 points while NEXTEV TCR and Aguri are tied on 12 points.
The third round of the 2015-16 Formula E season will be on the streets of Punta del Este, Uruguay on December 19th.
Friday, November 6, 2015
Friday Five: Valencia, Suzuka, Putrajaya, Texas
Three championships will be decided this weekend. Two of them are motorcycle championships; the other is a formula series. Malaysia hosts two races but we will only talk about one of them (sorry, Asian Le Mans Series. Next time, I promise). And the latest hubbub with NASCAR (I know. But we have to do it).
Valencia
The 2015 MotoGP season finale from Valencia pits Yamaha teammates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo against one another for the world championship but the ball is in Lorenzo's court despite the Italian holding a seven-point lead.
Rossi will have to start from the back of the grid after being penalized for contact with Honda rider Marc Márquez at the previous round at Malaysia. The Italian ran the Spaniard wide and kicked the two-time world champion Márquez's bike, ending his race. Rossi when on to finish third while Lorenzo came home in second.
If Lorenzo were to win at Valencia, Rossi would have to finish second to claim the title. If Lorenzo finished second, Rossi would have to finish third as fourth would leave him level with Lorenzo but Lorenzo owns the tiebreaker with six victories to Rossi's four. A third for Lorenzo would mean Rossi would need to finish at least sixth. If Lorenzo misses the podium and finishes fourth, Rossi would need to finish ninth. If Lorenzo finished fifth, Rossi would need to finish 11th. The worst Lorenzo can finish is ninth if he hopes to win the world title.
Marc Márquez has clinched third in the championship but his Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa will be in a fight for fourth. The winner of two of the last three MotoGP rounds has a two-point lead over Andrea Iannone. The Ducati rider has retired from the two races Pedrosa has won this season. Bradley Smith has a slim shot at fourth in the championship as he sits on 171 points, 19 behind Pedrosa and Smith is 18 ahead of Andrea Dovizioso, who can finish no worse than seventh in the championship. Cal Crutchlow is eighth on 118 points and 11 points ahead of Danilo Petrucci. The Espargaró brothers and Maverick Viñales will battle it out for tenth in the championship. Pol has 103 points, six head of his brother Aleix and 11 points ahead of Aleix's Suzuki teammate Viñales.
This will be the final MotoGP race for Nicky Hayden. The 2006 world champion will be heading to World Superbikes in 2016 to ride for Honda World Superbike Team.
Rossi and Lorenzo each have two victories at MotoGP and both riders have only ever won in the premier class at Valencia; Rossi in 2003 and 2004; Lorenzo in 2010 and 2013. Pedrosa has six victories at Valencia; three in MotoGP (2007, 2009, 2012), two in 250cc (2004, 2005) and one in 125cc (2002). Márquez won last year's race to put the cherry on top of his second world championship.
Moto3
The Moto3 title will also be decided at Valencia.
British rider Danny Kent has had multiple opportunities to seal the title but has failed on each occasion. The Leopard Racing Honda rider holds a 24-point lead over Red Bull KTM Ajo's Miguel Oliveira. The Portuguese rider has won three of the last five races and finished second in the other two. Oliveira has to win at Valencia and have Kent finish outside the points to take the world title.
Kent has not finished on the podium since he won his home race at Silverstone. Since then, he has two retirements and has not finished better than sixth. Kent has six victories, nine podiums and 14 points finishes to Oliveira's five victories, eight podiums and 14 points finishes. Kent also had the edge in pole positions with six to Oliveira's one.
Other contenders for the race victory are Italians Enea Bastianini, Romano Fenati and Niccolò Antonelli. Bastianini's victory at Misano was the first of his career. Since Fenati's lone victory at Le Mans, he has only two podium finish. Antonelli won at Brno and Motegi. Efrén Vázquez has yet to win this season but has five podiums. South African Brad Binder has four podiums, including the last two races. Jorge Navarro has finished on the podium in three of the last for races.
Suzuka
Four drivers enter the Super Formula season finale doubleheader from Suzuka with a shot at the title.
Hiroaki Ishiura leads with 45 points from two victories, four podiums and finishing in the top five in all six races. Ishiura scored his first Super Formula victory this season at Okayama, his 45th career start in the series. He will set a career-best championship finish regardless where he finishes, improving from fifth last year.
Kazuki Nakajima trails Ishiura by six points and has one victory, three second place finishes and a fourth. He missed the Okayama round after suffering injuries at the FIA WEC round at Spa-Francorchamps. Nakajima is the defending Super Formula champion and he also won the title in 2012. He could become the first driver to win consecutive title since Tsugio Matsuda in 2007-08.
André Lotterer and João Paulo de Oliveira are both 14 points behind Ishiura. Lotterer won the season opener from Suzuka and the most recent round from Sportsland SUGO. Outside of those two victories, the German's best finish is fourth. The Brazilian de Oliveira won at Fuji and finished third at Motegi and has finished in the points in all six races.
Putrajaya
The second round of the 2015-16 Formula E season takes place from Putrajaya, Malaysia.
Sébastien Buemi dominated the season opener from Beijing, leading all but one lap from pole position and scoring fastest lap and became the first driver to score the maximum of 30 points in a race. The Swiss driver has a 12-point championship lead over Lucas di Grassi and a 15-point lead over Nick Heidfeld. The Dragon Racing drivers of Loïc Duval and Jérôme d'Ambrosio rounded out the top five in Beijing.
Brits Oliver Turvey and Sam Bird are sixth and seventh in the championship. Bird is the defending Putrajaya race winner. Bird led 21 of 31 laps last year and won by over four seconds to di Grassi. Nathanaël Berthon, Stéphane Sarrazin and Robin Frijns round out the podiums. For the second consecutive season opener, Daniel Abt was penalized and lost points. The German received a 10-second penalty for unsafe release on the pit lane.
Defending champion Nelson Piquet, Jr. and Nicolas Prost will look to rebound after both failed to finish in the season opener. Trulli Formula E will miss their second consecutive round after their Motormatica JT-01 did not pass all the mandatory checks in scrutineering. Jarno Trulli was going to replace Salvador Durán after the Mexican reported had a breach of contract. Vitanonio Liuzzi was to be the other Trulli driver.
This year's race has been extended by two laps to 33 circuits around the 1.59-mile street circuit.
Texas
The penultimate race of the penultimate round of the Chase will take place at Texas Motor Speedway.
Jeff Gordon's victory at Martinsville clinched him a spot at the championship in the season finale at Homestead. Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. are tied for top Chase driver in points not locked into the next round. Busch finished fifth at Martinsville while Truex, Jr. was sixth, however, Truex, Jr. picked up a bonus point for leading a lap. Two points behind Busch and Truex, Jr. is defending champion Kevin Harvick.
Carl Edwards is on the bubble, seven points behind Harvick. Twenty-three points behind Harvick is Brad Keselowski while Kurt Busch is 26 points back of his teammate and Joey Logano trails fourth by 28 points.
Matt Kenseth has been suspended for the next two races after he caused an accident with Logano at Martinsville. Logano was leading the race at the time and Kenseth was nine-laps down after getting into an accident earlier in the race.
Five of the eight Chase drivers have won at Texas. Carl Edwards is the only one with multiple victories. He has three but has not won at the track since 2008. Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch's lone victories at the track both came in 2009. Kyle Busch won the spring race in 2013 while Joey Logano won the 2014 spring race. All eight Chase drivers have led over 100 laps at Texas but none average a finish of 10.0 or lower. Kevin Harvick is the top Chase driver in average finish at 12.7 and he has never won at Texas. He has finished second in the last two Texas race. Kyle Busch is just behind Harvick in average finish at 12.9. The next best are Martin Truex, Jr. and Carl Edwards; both average a 15.0.
Jimmie Johnson has the last two Texas races and four of the last six and leads all drivers with five victories at Texas.
Over/Unders
1. Over or Under: 9.5 positions gain by Valentino Rossi from his starting position in Valencia?
2. Over or Under: 4.461 seconds being the margin of victory in the Moto3 race from Valencia?
3. Over or Under: 0.5 podiums for Honda cars at Suzuka?
4. Over or Under: 2.5 drivers finishing in the top ten at Putrajaya after starting outside the top ten?
5. Over or Under: 3.5 Chevrolets in the top seven at Texas.
Last Week's Over/Unders
1. Under: Only 169 laps were completed in the 6 Hours of Shanghai.
2. Over: There was one safety car after Sebastian Vettel spun into the turn seven barriers.
3. Under: Two Chase drivers had top fives at Martinsville. Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch.
4. Under: Two Europeans finished on the Autopolis podiums. Ronnie Quintarelli in GT500, Jörg Müller in GT300.
5. Over: Yvan Muller retired from both races in Thailand (Quick WTCC note: Tiago Monteiro was disqualified from race two in Thailand, giving Sébastien Loeb the victory. Monteiro and Honda are appealing the penalty).
Predictions
1. At least two riders outside the top sixteen in the MotoGP championship score points at Valencia.
2. Miguel Oliveira finishes ahead of Danny Kent but does not win the Moto3 championship.
3. André Lotterer wins at least one race at Suzuka.
4. A driver scores their first career Formula E podium in Putrajaya.
5. A Chase driver is involved in a caution at Texas.
Last Week's Predictions
1. There will be at least two different class winners from the Fuji race (Correct. Three different class wins at Shanghai from Fuji. The #36 Signatech Alpine in LMP2, the #91 Porsche in GTE-Pro and the #83 AF Corse Ferrari in GTE-Am).
2. Lewis Hamilton does not finish on the podium (Wrong. Hamilton finished 2nd).
3. No one clinches a spot for the Homestead season finale (Wrong. Jeff Gordon did).
4. There will be a first time winner in 2015 at Autopolis (Wrong. The #1 NISMO Nissan and the #3 NDDP Racing with B-MAX Nissan each picked up their second victories of 2015).
5. A driver outside the top seven in the champion scores a podium in Buriram (Wrong. All podium finishers came from within the top four in the championship).
Overall: 1/5 Running Tally: 22/45
Valencia
The 2015 MotoGP season finale from Valencia pits Yamaha teammates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo against one another for the world championship but the ball is in Lorenzo's court despite the Italian holding a seven-point lead.
Rossi will have to start from the back of the grid after being penalized for contact with Honda rider Marc Márquez at the previous round at Malaysia. The Italian ran the Spaniard wide and kicked the two-time world champion Márquez's bike, ending his race. Rossi when on to finish third while Lorenzo came home in second.
If Lorenzo were to win at Valencia, Rossi would have to finish second to claim the title. If Lorenzo finished second, Rossi would have to finish third as fourth would leave him level with Lorenzo but Lorenzo owns the tiebreaker with six victories to Rossi's four. A third for Lorenzo would mean Rossi would need to finish at least sixth. If Lorenzo misses the podium and finishes fourth, Rossi would need to finish ninth. If Lorenzo finished fifth, Rossi would need to finish 11th. The worst Lorenzo can finish is ninth if he hopes to win the world title.
Marc Márquez has clinched third in the championship but his Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa will be in a fight for fourth. The winner of two of the last three MotoGP rounds has a two-point lead over Andrea Iannone. The Ducati rider has retired from the two races Pedrosa has won this season. Bradley Smith has a slim shot at fourth in the championship as he sits on 171 points, 19 behind Pedrosa and Smith is 18 ahead of Andrea Dovizioso, who can finish no worse than seventh in the championship. Cal Crutchlow is eighth on 118 points and 11 points ahead of Danilo Petrucci. The Espargaró brothers and Maverick Viñales will battle it out for tenth in the championship. Pol has 103 points, six head of his brother Aleix and 11 points ahead of Aleix's Suzuki teammate Viñales.
This will be the final MotoGP race for Nicky Hayden. The 2006 world champion will be heading to World Superbikes in 2016 to ride for Honda World Superbike Team.
Rossi and Lorenzo each have two victories at MotoGP and both riders have only ever won in the premier class at Valencia; Rossi in 2003 and 2004; Lorenzo in 2010 and 2013. Pedrosa has six victories at Valencia; three in MotoGP (2007, 2009, 2012), two in 250cc (2004, 2005) and one in 125cc (2002). Márquez won last year's race to put the cherry on top of his second world championship.
Moto3
The Moto3 title will also be decided at Valencia.
British rider Danny Kent has had multiple opportunities to seal the title but has failed on each occasion. The Leopard Racing Honda rider holds a 24-point lead over Red Bull KTM Ajo's Miguel Oliveira. The Portuguese rider has won three of the last five races and finished second in the other two. Oliveira has to win at Valencia and have Kent finish outside the points to take the world title.
Kent has not finished on the podium since he won his home race at Silverstone. Since then, he has two retirements and has not finished better than sixth. Kent has six victories, nine podiums and 14 points finishes to Oliveira's five victories, eight podiums and 14 points finishes. Kent also had the edge in pole positions with six to Oliveira's one.
Other contenders for the race victory are Italians Enea Bastianini, Romano Fenati and Niccolò Antonelli. Bastianini's victory at Misano was the first of his career. Since Fenati's lone victory at Le Mans, he has only two podium finish. Antonelli won at Brno and Motegi. Efrén Vázquez has yet to win this season but has five podiums. South African Brad Binder has four podiums, including the last two races. Jorge Navarro has finished on the podium in three of the last for races.
Suzuka
Four drivers enter the Super Formula season finale doubleheader from Suzuka with a shot at the title.
Hiroaki Ishiura leads with 45 points from two victories, four podiums and finishing in the top five in all six races. Ishiura scored his first Super Formula victory this season at Okayama, his 45th career start in the series. He will set a career-best championship finish regardless where he finishes, improving from fifth last year.
Kazuki Nakajima trails Ishiura by six points and has one victory, three second place finishes and a fourth. He missed the Okayama round after suffering injuries at the FIA WEC round at Spa-Francorchamps. Nakajima is the defending Super Formula champion and he also won the title in 2012. He could become the first driver to win consecutive title since Tsugio Matsuda in 2007-08.
André Lotterer and João Paulo de Oliveira are both 14 points behind Ishiura. Lotterer won the season opener from Suzuka and the most recent round from Sportsland SUGO. Outside of those two victories, the German's best finish is fourth. The Brazilian de Oliveira won at Fuji and finished third at Motegi and has finished in the points in all six races.
Putrajaya
The second round of the 2015-16 Formula E season takes place from Putrajaya, Malaysia.
Sébastien Buemi dominated the season opener from Beijing, leading all but one lap from pole position and scoring fastest lap and became the first driver to score the maximum of 30 points in a race. The Swiss driver has a 12-point championship lead over Lucas di Grassi and a 15-point lead over Nick Heidfeld. The Dragon Racing drivers of Loïc Duval and Jérôme d'Ambrosio rounded out the top five in Beijing.
Brits Oliver Turvey and Sam Bird are sixth and seventh in the championship. Bird is the defending Putrajaya race winner. Bird led 21 of 31 laps last year and won by over four seconds to di Grassi. Nathanaël Berthon, Stéphane Sarrazin and Robin Frijns round out the podiums. For the second consecutive season opener, Daniel Abt was penalized and lost points. The German received a 10-second penalty for unsafe release on the pit lane.
Defending champion Nelson Piquet, Jr. and Nicolas Prost will look to rebound after both failed to finish in the season opener. Trulli Formula E will miss their second consecutive round after their Motormatica JT-01 did not pass all the mandatory checks in scrutineering. Jarno Trulli was going to replace Salvador Durán after the Mexican reported had a breach of contract. Vitanonio Liuzzi was to be the other Trulli driver.
This year's race has been extended by two laps to 33 circuits around the 1.59-mile street circuit.
Texas
The penultimate race of the penultimate round of the Chase will take place at Texas Motor Speedway.
Jeff Gordon's victory at Martinsville clinched him a spot at the championship in the season finale at Homestead. Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. are tied for top Chase driver in points not locked into the next round. Busch finished fifth at Martinsville while Truex, Jr. was sixth, however, Truex, Jr. picked up a bonus point for leading a lap. Two points behind Busch and Truex, Jr. is defending champion Kevin Harvick.
Carl Edwards is on the bubble, seven points behind Harvick. Twenty-three points behind Harvick is Brad Keselowski while Kurt Busch is 26 points back of his teammate and Joey Logano trails fourth by 28 points.
Matt Kenseth has been suspended for the next two races after he caused an accident with Logano at Martinsville. Logano was leading the race at the time and Kenseth was nine-laps down after getting into an accident earlier in the race.
Five of the eight Chase drivers have won at Texas. Carl Edwards is the only one with multiple victories. He has three but has not won at the track since 2008. Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch's lone victories at the track both came in 2009. Kyle Busch won the spring race in 2013 while Joey Logano won the 2014 spring race. All eight Chase drivers have led over 100 laps at Texas but none average a finish of 10.0 or lower. Kevin Harvick is the top Chase driver in average finish at 12.7 and he has never won at Texas. He has finished second in the last two Texas race. Kyle Busch is just behind Harvick in average finish at 12.9. The next best are Martin Truex, Jr. and Carl Edwards; both average a 15.0.
Jimmie Johnson has the last two Texas races and four of the last six and leads all drivers with five victories at Texas.
Over/Unders
1. Over or Under: 9.5 positions gain by Valentino Rossi from his starting position in Valencia?
2. Over or Under: 4.461 seconds being the margin of victory in the Moto3 race from Valencia?
3. Over or Under: 0.5 podiums for Honda cars at Suzuka?
4. Over or Under: 2.5 drivers finishing in the top ten at Putrajaya after starting outside the top ten?
5. Over or Under: 3.5 Chevrolets in the top seven at Texas.
Last Week's Over/Unders
1. Under: Only 169 laps were completed in the 6 Hours of Shanghai.
2. Over: There was one safety car after Sebastian Vettel spun into the turn seven barriers.
3. Under: Two Chase drivers had top fives at Martinsville. Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch.
4. Under: Two Europeans finished on the Autopolis podiums. Ronnie Quintarelli in GT500, Jörg Müller in GT300.
5. Over: Yvan Muller retired from both races in Thailand (Quick WTCC note: Tiago Monteiro was disqualified from race two in Thailand, giving Sébastien Loeb the victory. Monteiro and Honda are appealing the penalty).
Predictions
1. At least two riders outside the top sixteen in the MotoGP championship score points at Valencia.
2. Miguel Oliveira finishes ahead of Danny Kent but does not win the Moto3 championship.
3. André Lotterer wins at least one race at Suzuka.
4. A driver scores their first career Formula E podium in Putrajaya.
5. A Chase driver is involved in a caution at Texas.
Last Week's Predictions
1. There will be at least two different class winners from the Fuji race (Correct. Three different class wins at Shanghai from Fuji. The #36 Signatech Alpine in LMP2, the #91 Porsche in GTE-Pro and the #83 AF Corse Ferrari in GTE-Am).
2. Lewis Hamilton does not finish on the podium (Wrong. Hamilton finished 2nd).
3. No one clinches a spot for the Homestead season finale (Wrong. Jeff Gordon did).
4. There will be a first time winner in 2015 at Autopolis (Wrong. The #1 NISMO Nissan and the #3 NDDP Racing with B-MAX Nissan each picked up their second victories of 2015).
5. A driver outside the top seven in the champion scores a podium in Buriram (Wrong. All podium finishers came from within the top four in the championship).
Overall: 1/5 Running Tally: 22/45
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Wednesday Wrap-Up: Team Penske's 2015 Season
The penultimate Wednesday Wrap-Up will look at Team Penske's 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season. The team expanded to four cars with the addition of Simon Pagenaud. Will Power was coming off that elusive first championship and Hélio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya were coming off finishes in the top five in the championship. On paper, Team Penske was set to dominate the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Paper has never won an IndyCar race though.
Juan Pablo Montoya
The Colombian started the season with a victory at St. Petersburg and was on of the mountain for months. After beating his teammates in Florida, he got a top five at NOLA and held off Simon Pagenaud for third at Long Beach. A flat tire ruined his race at Barber but he bounced back with a third at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis 500 went all over the place for Juan Pablo Montoya. He was out of it after being hit by Simona de Silvestro. He was out of it after he ran over the air hose on a pit stop. Scott Dixon was dominating. Simon Pagenaud, Will Power and Tony Kanaan were on his heels. It appeared Montoya wasn't going to be a factor. It took him half the race to get himself back in contention. It took him 165 laps to lead his first lap. Dixon faded and it became a Penske vs. Penske dual between Montoya and Will Power. Montoya held off Power on the final four laps to pick up his second career Indianapolis 500 victory.
The rest of Montoya's 2015 season would be consistent but not spectacular. Two tenth place finishes at Belle Isle that could have been much more. To be fair, Montoya wasn't the only one caught out in race one and Montoya ran out of fuel in race two a few corners to early. He was fortunate to get tenth in race two but it could have been much better. He finished fourth at Texas, finished a career-best seventh at Toronto with two fourths at Fontana and Milwaukee and overcame a pit lane speeding penalty at the mile oval.
The title was Montoya's to lose. He led by 54 points with five races to go. He completed all but one lap though the first dozen races and finished in the top ten in 11 races. It appeared the championship would not come down to the final race even though the finale would be double points. Then came Iowa. Then came a mechanical failure on lap ten. A last place finish and the door was kicked open. When it appear Montoya was going to rebound at Mid-Ohio, one caution caught him out. He was outside the top ten and fought for eleventh while Graham Rahal won and the closed the margin to nine points. At Pocono, it appeared the title was back in Montoya's lap. Rahal retired. Hélio Castroneves retired. Scott Dixon was behind him. He had a shot for the victory but settled for third.
Montoya entered the finale up 34 points on Rahal with four other drivers championship eligible. He had to run at the front and he did but he still found trouble. He ran into Power, putting them both at the back of the field. The title was slipping from his grasp. Luckily for Montoya, Josef Newgarden had a pit lane fire take him out. Sébastien Bourdais spun Graham Rahal and the Frenchman was penalized. Castroneves and Pagenaud faded. Stefano Coletti was in the top five but was penalized for having his radio fail. Scott Dixon was leading but Montoya was making up ground. Montoya needed to make up one more position. He needed to finish fifth. He ended the season with a sixth place finish and lost the title on a tiebreaker.
Will Power
The 2014 IndyCar champion started his title defense in style. Pole position for St. Petersburg with a second place finish after leading 75 laps and being jumped by Montoya during pit stops. A seventh at NOLA followed with a 20th at Long Beach after his car stalled when he was coming on the pit lane. Long Beach was already going to be an uphill battle after starting 18th but the stall put him a lap down, which he would never make up. At Barber, he ran into Takuma Sato exiting the pit lane and was penalized. While neither lost a lap, Sato finished 17th and Power came home in fourth.
Power started on pole position for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and dominated, leading 65 of 82 laps and held off a late charge from Graham Rahal. He started second in the Indianapolis 500 and was at the front all race. Once he got passed Scott Dixon, it became Power vs. Montoya and the Australian couldn't beat the Colombian to the line. He started on pole position for Belle Isle 1 but lost the lead at the after two laps to Takuma Sato. He would be at the front but would only lead to more laps and finished fourth. In race two, Power started second and led the first two laps but faded to the middle of the top ten. Right when it looked like Power would have a shot to get back to the front but he and Hélio Castroneves came together and they finished 18th and 19th respectively.
The third quarter of the season was trying for Power. Another pole position at Texas but he got the setup wrong and finished four laps down in 14th. At Toronto, Power led the first 30 laps from pole position but as drivers switched to slicks Power wasn't a factor and settle for fourth. He was caught up in an accident at Fontana with Takuma Sato with less than ten laps to go and at Milwaukee Ryan Briscoe got into the rear of Power and ended both their days.
He managed a tenth at Iowa but was bitten by the Sage Karam caution at Mid-Ohio and finished 14th. A fourth at Pocono kept Power alive for a second consecutive title and he started the season finale from pole position with an extra point in his pocket. However, even starting from pole position couldn't keep him from hitting his teammate. Both he and Montoya fell to the back but through attrition and others making bonehead mistakes, they worked their way back into the top ten. Power's championship died with that incident as the focus was getting Montoya back to the front. Power consolation prize was seventh in the race and third in the championship.
Hélio Castroneves
Another season of consistent results for Hélio Castroneves found him in championship contention once again. Fourth at St. Petersburg followed by two runner-up finishes at NOLA and Long Beach. At NOLA, he overcame contact with Francesco Dracone to finish on the podium and at Long Beach he started from pole position. At Barber, Castroneves started on pole position and was fourth late in the race but had to pit on the final lap for fuel and fell to 15th.
He made his 300th start at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and celebrated it by running into the back of Scott Dixon. No penalty was issued on the spot and Castroneves finished sixth while Dixon eked out tenth. He was penalized eight points for the incident but Mr. Penske negotiated it down to a three-point penalty. Castroneves hung in the top ten for pretty much all the Indianapolis 500 but couldn't keep up with Dixon, Power, Pagenaud and Kanaan. The Hondas of Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti found something late and Castroneves faded to seventh. A sixth in Belle Isle 1 was followed by, as you all know, the incident with Power in race two.
At Texas, he was able to keep pace with Dixon and Kanaan but couldn't beat them and settled for third. A slight change of strategy gave Castroneves a third at Toronto. He was at the front for the first half of Fontana but he spun off turn two and finished last. He would rebound from Fontana with a second place finish at Milwaukee despite starting last after failing to get in the qualifying line on time. He benefitted from the final caution as he was about to pit and if he did, he wasn't going to finish in top five.
Another pole position at Iowa but, like all the Penskes, he faded and finished 11th. He had a better day than 15th at Mid-Ohio but like Montoya and Power, he was caught out by the Karam caution. He started fourth at Pocono and was in the top ten all race until he had an accident on a restart. If you want to know what restart, go back to the one that was glorified with screenshots of cars six-to-seven wide on the front straightaway. They weren't all going to make it through when entering that wide. He still had a shot at the title but started 15th. He made his way into the top ten but faded and finished where he started and fifth in the championship.
Simon Pagenaud
Simon Pagenaud's debut season for Team Penske was less than spectacular. His average starting position was 5.1 He average finish was 10.6. A top five at St. Petersburg was followed by a retirement at NOLA after contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay. He had a fourth at Long Beach and could only manage ninth at Barber after being caught out by the first caution of the race. A gearbox failure ended his race at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis after 57 laps.
He was competitive at the Indianapolis 500 but he faded and nearly ran over Justin Wilson. It could have been much worse but it could have been much better. He finished third in Belle Isle 1 after getting pit strategy right. The next three races would see Pagenaud finish outside the top ten. Fourteenth at Belle Isle 2 followed by 11th from the front row at Texas after getting his setup wrong and 11th at Toronto, once again from second on grid. At Fontana, he started on pole but wasn't a factor, leading only three laps and finishing ninth. He started 17th at Milwaukee and picked up another ninth. He faded at Iowa and benefitted from the infamous Sage Karam caution at Mid-Ohio to finish third.
Another front row start at Pocono saw Pagenaud lead 30 laps but fade to seventh in the end. At Sonoma, he started fourth and ended up in 16th. The Frenchman missed the top ten in the championship by 22 points and finished better than his starting position in four of sixteen races.
Is Team Penske a great team? It seems like a ridiculous question but consider that every IndyCar championship since 2006 (not including the final two seasons of Champ Car) has come down to the final race of the season and Penske has had at least one driver alive for the title in all but one of those season (2007 when it was Dario Franchitti vs. Scott Dixon vs. Tony Kanaan) and the team has only two titles to show for it and seven runner-up finishes in that time frame, including having the championship runner-up in the last six seasons.
Team Penske is a gagging, choking dog of a team. They find ways to lose the championship and it doesn't matter who it is. Ryan Briscoe, Will Power, Hélio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya have all choked while driving for this team. Why? I don't know. We hear about doing it the Penske way but the Penske way has led to nothing but disappointment on all but two occasions. There needs to be a culture change at Team Penske but Roger Penske won't change the culture and there is no one at that team willing to challenge The Captain.
The team has won three Indianapolis 500s, tied with Chip Ganassi Racing for the most since 2006. IndyCar is in a weird where one event is bigger than the championship but can winning the Indianapolis 500 be the only thing that matters? Yes it pays more than winning the championship. Yes it gives a team, driver and sponsor more recognition than winning the championship but winning the biggest race and then gagging in the championship can't be acceptable.
All four drivers gagged this past season. Realize that Castroneves has failed to score a top ten finish in the last four races of the last two seasons. Montoya could have taken a stranglehold on the championship at Pocono but pussyfooted, let Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden pass him on the final restart and settled for third and 16 fewer points than had he taken the victory. Power hasn't finished on the podium since the Indianapolis 500. Pagenaud did nothing but lose positions all season. These should all be red flags for the team heading into 2016.
Despite Penske's habit of gagging, on paper, it appears 2016 will be Team Penske's year. Consider this: Next year is the 100th Indianapolis 500, it will be 25 years since Rick Mears' won his fourth Indianapolis 500 driving for Roger Penske and Hélio Castroneves will be making his sixth attempt at winning his fourth Indianapolis 500. On paper, it feels like fate is on Castroneves and Penske's side. Perhaps 2016 will also be Castroneves' year and he will finally get the championship that has eluded him for 18 seasons.
Juan Pablo Montoya
The Colombian started the season with a victory at St. Petersburg and was on of the mountain for months. After beating his teammates in Florida, he got a top five at NOLA and held off Simon Pagenaud for third at Long Beach. A flat tire ruined his race at Barber but he bounced back with a third at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis 500 went all over the place for Juan Pablo Montoya. He was out of it after being hit by Simona de Silvestro. He was out of it after he ran over the air hose on a pit stop. Scott Dixon was dominating. Simon Pagenaud, Will Power and Tony Kanaan were on his heels. It appeared Montoya wasn't going to be a factor. It took him half the race to get himself back in contention. It took him 165 laps to lead his first lap. Dixon faded and it became a Penske vs. Penske dual between Montoya and Will Power. Montoya held off Power on the final four laps to pick up his second career Indianapolis 500 victory.
The rest of Montoya's 2015 season would be consistent but not spectacular. Two tenth place finishes at Belle Isle that could have been much more. To be fair, Montoya wasn't the only one caught out in race one and Montoya ran out of fuel in race two a few corners to early. He was fortunate to get tenth in race two but it could have been much better. He finished fourth at Texas, finished a career-best seventh at Toronto with two fourths at Fontana and Milwaukee and overcame a pit lane speeding penalty at the mile oval.
The title was Montoya's to lose. He led by 54 points with five races to go. He completed all but one lap though the first dozen races and finished in the top ten in 11 races. It appeared the championship would not come down to the final race even though the finale would be double points. Then came Iowa. Then came a mechanical failure on lap ten. A last place finish and the door was kicked open. When it appear Montoya was going to rebound at Mid-Ohio, one caution caught him out. He was outside the top ten and fought for eleventh while Graham Rahal won and the closed the margin to nine points. At Pocono, it appeared the title was back in Montoya's lap. Rahal retired. Hélio Castroneves retired. Scott Dixon was behind him. He had a shot for the victory but settled for third.
Montoya entered the finale up 34 points on Rahal with four other drivers championship eligible. He had to run at the front and he did but he still found trouble. He ran into Power, putting them both at the back of the field. The title was slipping from his grasp. Luckily for Montoya, Josef Newgarden had a pit lane fire take him out. Sébastien Bourdais spun Graham Rahal and the Frenchman was penalized. Castroneves and Pagenaud faded. Stefano Coletti was in the top five but was penalized for having his radio fail. Scott Dixon was leading but Montoya was making up ground. Montoya needed to make up one more position. He needed to finish fifth. He ended the season with a sixth place finish and lost the title on a tiebreaker.
Will Power
The 2014 IndyCar champion started his title defense in style. Pole position for St. Petersburg with a second place finish after leading 75 laps and being jumped by Montoya during pit stops. A seventh at NOLA followed with a 20th at Long Beach after his car stalled when he was coming on the pit lane. Long Beach was already going to be an uphill battle after starting 18th but the stall put him a lap down, which he would never make up. At Barber, he ran into Takuma Sato exiting the pit lane and was penalized. While neither lost a lap, Sato finished 17th and Power came home in fourth.
Power started on pole position for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and dominated, leading 65 of 82 laps and held off a late charge from Graham Rahal. He started second in the Indianapolis 500 and was at the front all race. Once he got passed Scott Dixon, it became Power vs. Montoya and the Australian couldn't beat the Colombian to the line. He started on pole position for Belle Isle 1 but lost the lead at the after two laps to Takuma Sato. He would be at the front but would only lead to more laps and finished fourth. In race two, Power started second and led the first two laps but faded to the middle of the top ten. Right when it looked like Power would have a shot to get back to the front but he and Hélio Castroneves came together and they finished 18th and 19th respectively.
The third quarter of the season was trying for Power. Another pole position at Texas but he got the setup wrong and finished four laps down in 14th. At Toronto, Power led the first 30 laps from pole position but as drivers switched to slicks Power wasn't a factor and settle for fourth. He was caught up in an accident at Fontana with Takuma Sato with less than ten laps to go and at Milwaukee Ryan Briscoe got into the rear of Power and ended both their days.
He managed a tenth at Iowa but was bitten by the Sage Karam caution at Mid-Ohio and finished 14th. A fourth at Pocono kept Power alive for a second consecutive title and he started the season finale from pole position with an extra point in his pocket. However, even starting from pole position couldn't keep him from hitting his teammate. Both he and Montoya fell to the back but through attrition and others making bonehead mistakes, they worked their way back into the top ten. Power's championship died with that incident as the focus was getting Montoya back to the front. Power consolation prize was seventh in the race and third in the championship.
Hélio Castroneves
Another season of consistent results for Hélio Castroneves found him in championship contention once again. Fourth at St. Petersburg followed by two runner-up finishes at NOLA and Long Beach. At NOLA, he overcame contact with Francesco Dracone to finish on the podium and at Long Beach he started from pole position. At Barber, Castroneves started on pole position and was fourth late in the race but had to pit on the final lap for fuel and fell to 15th.
He made his 300th start at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and celebrated it by running into the back of Scott Dixon. No penalty was issued on the spot and Castroneves finished sixth while Dixon eked out tenth. He was penalized eight points for the incident but Mr. Penske negotiated it down to a three-point penalty. Castroneves hung in the top ten for pretty much all the Indianapolis 500 but couldn't keep up with Dixon, Power, Pagenaud and Kanaan. The Hondas of Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti found something late and Castroneves faded to seventh. A sixth in Belle Isle 1 was followed by, as you all know, the incident with Power in race two.
At Texas, he was able to keep pace with Dixon and Kanaan but couldn't beat them and settled for third. A slight change of strategy gave Castroneves a third at Toronto. He was at the front for the first half of Fontana but he spun off turn two and finished last. He would rebound from Fontana with a second place finish at Milwaukee despite starting last after failing to get in the qualifying line on time. He benefitted from the final caution as he was about to pit and if he did, he wasn't going to finish in top five.
Another pole position at Iowa but, like all the Penskes, he faded and finished 11th. He had a better day than 15th at Mid-Ohio but like Montoya and Power, he was caught out by the Karam caution. He started fourth at Pocono and was in the top ten all race until he had an accident on a restart. If you want to know what restart, go back to the one that was glorified with screenshots of cars six-to-seven wide on the front straightaway. They weren't all going to make it through when entering that wide. He still had a shot at the title but started 15th. He made his way into the top ten but faded and finished where he started and fifth in the championship.
Simon Pagenaud
Simon Pagenaud's debut season for Team Penske was less than spectacular. His average starting position was 5.1 He average finish was 10.6. A top five at St. Petersburg was followed by a retirement at NOLA after contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay. He had a fourth at Long Beach and could only manage ninth at Barber after being caught out by the first caution of the race. A gearbox failure ended his race at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis after 57 laps.
He was competitive at the Indianapolis 500 but he faded and nearly ran over Justin Wilson. It could have been much worse but it could have been much better. He finished third in Belle Isle 1 after getting pit strategy right. The next three races would see Pagenaud finish outside the top ten. Fourteenth at Belle Isle 2 followed by 11th from the front row at Texas after getting his setup wrong and 11th at Toronto, once again from second on grid. At Fontana, he started on pole but wasn't a factor, leading only three laps and finishing ninth. He started 17th at Milwaukee and picked up another ninth. He faded at Iowa and benefitted from the infamous Sage Karam caution at Mid-Ohio to finish third.
Another front row start at Pocono saw Pagenaud lead 30 laps but fade to seventh in the end. At Sonoma, he started fourth and ended up in 16th. The Frenchman missed the top ten in the championship by 22 points and finished better than his starting position in four of sixteen races.
Is Team Penske a great team? It seems like a ridiculous question but consider that every IndyCar championship since 2006 (not including the final two seasons of Champ Car) has come down to the final race of the season and Penske has had at least one driver alive for the title in all but one of those season (2007 when it was Dario Franchitti vs. Scott Dixon vs. Tony Kanaan) and the team has only two titles to show for it and seven runner-up finishes in that time frame, including having the championship runner-up in the last six seasons.
Team Penske is a gagging, choking dog of a team. They find ways to lose the championship and it doesn't matter who it is. Ryan Briscoe, Will Power, Hélio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya have all choked while driving for this team. Why? I don't know. We hear about doing it the Penske way but the Penske way has led to nothing but disappointment on all but two occasions. There needs to be a culture change at Team Penske but Roger Penske won't change the culture and there is no one at that team willing to challenge The Captain.
The team has won three Indianapolis 500s, tied with Chip Ganassi Racing for the most since 2006. IndyCar is in a weird where one event is bigger than the championship but can winning the Indianapolis 500 be the only thing that matters? Yes it pays more than winning the championship. Yes it gives a team, driver and sponsor more recognition than winning the championship but winning the biggest race and then gagging in the championship can't be acceptable.
All four drivers gagged this past season. Realize that Castroneves has failed to score a top ten finish in the last four races of the last two seasons. Montoya could have taken a stranglehold on the championship at Pocono but pussyfooted, let Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden pass him on the final restart and settled for third and 16 fewer points than had he taken the victory. Power hasn't finished on the podium since the Indianapolis 500. Pagenaud did nothing but lose positions all season. These should all be red flags for the team heading into 2016.
Despite Penske's habit of gagging, on paper, it appears 2016 will be Team Penske's year. Consider this: Next year is the 100th Indianapolis 500, it will be 25 years since Rick Mears' won his fourth Indianapolis 500 driving for Roger Penske and Hélio Castroneves will be making his sixth attempt at winning his fourth Indianapolis 500. On paper, it feels like fate is on Castroneves and Penske's side. Perhaps 2016 will also be Castroneves' year and he will finally get the championship that has eluded him for 18 seasons.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Musings From the Weekend: The Narratives
November began. Champions were crowned in Asia, one for the first time, the other for the second time in as many. Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano had a coming together. The Mexican Grand Prix could have used some rain. There was plenty of rain in China. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
The Narratives
The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule was announced last week and a lot of narratives popped up just with the release of the calendar. You don't need races to be run to have narrative. With that said, let's just look at storylines for each race even though we are just beginning November 2015.
St. Petersburg: IndyCar history will be made at St. Petersburg. For the first time ever, an IndyCar race will take place on March 13th. There have been two races on March 14th (1976: Bobby Unser won at Phoenix. 2010: Will Power won at São Paulo). There has never been a race on March 12th but there have been two races on March 11th (1979: Gordon Johncock won at Phoenix. 2001: Cristiano da Matta won at Monterrey). There has never been a race on March 13th. If you are a fan of witnessing history, you will not want to miss this one. Also, March 13th is Marco Andretti's 29th birthday. He could become the tenth driver in IndyCar history to win on their birthday. Not to mention that if James Hinchcliffe returns for this race and takes the green flag, he will be making his 75th career start.
Phoenix: Not only will it be the first IndyCar race at the track in over 11 years, it will be the first IndyCar race on April 2nd since 2006 when Hélio Castroneves won at St. Petersburg. It will be the second Phoenix race to occur on April 2nd. In 1995, Robby Gordon scored his first career victory on the one-mile oval driving for Walker Racing. This race will also occur on what would have been Jack Brabham's 90th birthday. In the off chance Matthew Brabham is in the race, he could accomplish a tremendous feat on a special day for him and his family. It could also be a special day for Will Power, Ryan Briscoe or any other Australia in the field on that day. April 2nd will also be Fabrizio Barbazza's 53rd birthday.
Long Beach: It will be the fourth time the Grand Prix of Long Beach will fall on April 17th. The previous one was in 2011 and won by Mike Conway after the Brit drove passed Dario Franchitti and Ryan Briscoe. The other two were both won by Al Unser, Jr. in 1988 and 1994.
Barber: Scott Dixon has finished second, second, second, second, third and third in six starts at Barber Motorsports Park. Can the defending IndyCar champion finally stand on the top step in Alabama? Can he give Chip Ganassi Racing its first victory at Barber? The seventh Grand Prix of Alabama will be the first race on April 24th since 1966 when Rodger Ward won at Trenton. This will also be Sébastien Bourdais' 150th career start.
Grand Prix of Indianapolis: It is the start of the month of May. Juan Pablo Montoya, Hélio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden and Gabby Chaves will all try to become the third drivers to win on both the oval and road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, joining Alex Lloyd and Jack Harvey. History will be made, not only because the race is occurring at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but also because, like St. Petersburg, it will be the first race on May 14th. Also, if Rodolfo González returns to IndyCar competition, the Venezuelan will have the opportunity to win a race on his 30th birthday.
Indianapolis 500: It is obvious. The 100th Indianapolis 500. You can't help but get goose bumps. That day will be spectacular. We don't know what will happen but it memorable. It will also be the eighth Indianapolis 500 to be run on May 29th. The previous two were won by Dan Wheldon. The first "500" on May 29th was in 1971 and won by Al Unser on his birthday. Unser turns 77th in 2016. In 1982, Gordon Johncock defeated Rick Mears by 0.16 seconds, the closest Indianapolis 500 finish for a decade. The following year, Tom Sneva won his first. Five years after Sneva, Rick Mears won his third. In 1994, the Penske PC-23 Mercedes-Benz 500I owned the day and Al Unser, Jr. took the victory after Emerson Fittipaldi slapped the wall.
You will have Hélio Castroneves going for his fourth. The 2016 race will mark the 25th anniversary of Rick Mears' fourth. It will be the 50th anniversary of Graham Hill's surprise victory as a rookie (I hope Damon Hill is invited for the grand occasion). It will be the 100th anniversary of Dario Resta's victory in the lone year the race was scheduled for 300 miles and it will be the 100th anniversary of Peugeot's last Indianapolis 500 victory (I hope Peugeot representatives are invited to the race).
In non-Indianapolis 500 related storylines: Should Graham Rahal take the green flag and have taken the green flag in the first five races, he would be making his 150th career start.
Belle Isle 1: The weekend after the Indianapolis 500 brings the pressure of doing it again. Only once has the Indianapolis 500 winner gone on to win the next race when it has fallen on June 4th and that Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000. It will also be ten years since the last time IndyCar raced on June 4th and there were two races that day in 2006. Ah, the days of the split. Sébastien Bourdais won at Milwaukee. Scott Dixon won at Watkins Glen.
Belle Isle 2: Twice has an Indianapolis 500 gone on to win on June 5th. Those were Rick Mears in 1988 and Al Unser, Jr. in 1994. Those seasons are the only seasons where the Indianapolis 500 has been on May 29th and there been an IndyCar race on June 5th. It seems as if the Indianapolis 500 will be a shoe-in to win this one. Will that be the base in 2016? Also, both Mears and Unser, Jr. drove for Penske in those seasons. Could 2016 turn out to be Penske's year? This will also make the halfway point of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season. We will get a sense who will be fighting for the championship and who will be fighting for their jobs.
Texas: Since the introduction of the DW12 chassis, the racing at Texas has flipped on its head from pack racing to drivers having to fight their cars and tire degradation. Passing happens as cars fade and pit strategies vary wildly. Some stop within 40 laps. Some stretch it to nearly 60 laps a stint. It is the most fascinating race of the season.
Road America: The long awaited return of the best road course in the United States. Road America is back on the IndyCar schedule. As excited as we all are for this event, this has the feeling of being a race that will let us all down and then leave us questioning ourselves. We have no idea how the cars will race. We have no idea how long caution periods will be. Will the track record of 1:39.866 set by Dario Franchitti in 2000 be broken? Will passing be difficult?
Iowa: The popular short track race has moved to Sunday afternoon. Andretti Autosport enters having won six consecutive Iowa races. This will be the sixth IndyCar race to occur on July 10th, the first since 2011 at Toronto, when Dario Franchitti and Will Power infamously came together. This race will also fall 11 years to the day of Justin Wilson's first career victory, which came at Toronto.
Toronto: Back on its traditional July-date, Toronto marks the final race of the third quarter of the season. There will be four races left and when the teams head back to the States, we will have a clear pictures of who the contenders will be. We will see what the championship leader has to do to keep control of the championship battle. We will know what second, third, fourth, fifth, maybe even sixth have to do to run down the championship leader.
Mid-Ohio: July 31st is Justin Wilson's birthday. Mid-Ohio was the site of Justin Wilson's final podium in what would turn out to be the penultimate race of his career. I have never been a fan of organized memorials. I think they can go too far at times. I think they should be more organic and not turn into an event. However, I'd like to see something done at Mid-Ohio. If the Wilson family doesn't want to be there, that is fine but I would like to see IndyCar do something for this race. With Honda being the sponsor of the race and their relationship with Wilson, perhaps they could use the front straightaway bridge and turn it into a memorial for Wilson.
It will also be 11 years since the last IndyCar races on July 31st and, like June 5th, there were two races that day. Bryan Herta scored his fourth and final IndyCar victory at Michigan and Sébastien Bourdais won the inaugural Grand Prix of San Jose, which feature the first of IndyCar's too many battles with railroad tracks.
Pocono: The obvious narrative is the return to Pocono a year after the death of Justin Wilson. It is a weekend we all need. It was such a freak accident. The series needs it, the track needs it, the drivers need it and the fans need it. We all need to come face-to-face with that day and return to the place where it happened. It is going to be therapeutic and relieving. IndyCar hasn't done that with Las Vegas and it should have. It can't leave places with that being the final memory. It leaves the wrong impression. There was too much finger pointing after Las Vegas and that bridge has never been mended. Fingers should have never been point. The death of Dan Wheldon divided people when it shouldn't have. The death of Justin Wilson could have happened anywhere. It nearly happened at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2014. Pocono Raceway just happened to be the location and hopefully the return in 2016 will give the track a fantastic race and strengthen a relationship that will last a long, long, long time.
This will be the first race on August 21st since 2005 when Dan Wheldon won at Pikes Peak in what turned out to be the final IndyCar race at the track. Is that foreshadowing for the future of IndyCar at Pocono? I hope not. It will also be the second Pocono race to take place on August 21st. The first was in 1988 and won by Bobby Rahal. Can his son Graham repeat his father's feat?
Boston: Is it ironic that the first Grand Prix of Boston will occur four years to the day of the inaugural Grand Prix of Baltimore? Is this foreshadowing of the fate of this event? Baltimore had great crowds but was a disaster. The city never got behind it and it lasted three year. Boston is already against the event. This race isn't even a guarantee to happen. Some say it is. Others say it isn't. The reported deal was for five years but who knows if this race will even make it to year one.
Should Boston (or a replacement race, fingers crossed for Milwaukee) occur on this weekend, Ryan Hunter-Reay could be making his 200th career start and Simon Pagenaud could be making his 100th career start.
Sonoma: The season finale. There is no guarantee the championship will come down to the final race but if it does, the race will be a frantic event, following two, three, four or maybe even five drivers battle out for the Astor Cup.
Sonoma could mark the 100th career start for Charlie Kimball.
Champions From the Weekend
José María López clinched his second consecutive World Touring Car Championship title with a victory in race one from Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand. López finished fourth in race two as Tiago Monteiro took his third victory of the season.
André Couto clinched the Super GT GT300 championship with his second place finish at Autopolis in the #10 Gainer Nissan GT-R GT3 with Katsumasa Chiyo.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about what happened in Thailand but did you know...
Nico Rosberg won the Mexican Grand Prix.
The #17 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard won the 6 Hours of Shanghai, their fourth consecutive victory. The #36 Signatech Alpine-Nissan of Nelson Panciatici, Paul-Loup Chatin and Tom Dillmann won in LMP2. The #91 Porsche of championship leader Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen won in GTE-Pro. In GTE-Am, the #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Emmanuel Collard, François Perrodo and Rui Águas were victorious.
The #1 NISMO Nissan GT-R of Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli won the Super GT race from Autopolis. It was a sweep for Nissan as the #3 NDDP Racing with B-MAX Nissan GT-R GT3 GT300 of Kazuki Hoshino and Mitsunori Takaboshi won in GT300.
Jeff Gordon won the NASCAR Cup race from Martinsville.
Matt Crafton won the NASCAR Truck race from Martinsville.
Coming Up This Weekend
MotoGP season finale from Valencia. Valentino Rossi vs. Jorge Lorenzo for the title.
Super Formula season finale from Suzuka.
Formula E will be in Putrajaya.
V8 Supercars head east to Pukekohe Park Raceway.
NASCAR heads to Texas.
Asian Le Mans Series will run at Sepang.
The Narratives
The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule was announced last week and a lot of narratives popped up just with the release of the calendar. You don't need races to be run to have narrative. With that said, let's just look at storylines for each race even though we are just beginning November 2015.
St. Petersburg: IndyCar history will be made at St. Petersburg. For the first time ever, an IndyCar race will take place on March 13th. There have been two races on March 14th (1976: Bobby Unser won at Phoenix. 2010: Will Power won at São Paulo). There has never been a race on March 12th but there have been two races on March 11th (1979: Gordon Johncock won at Phoenix. 2001: Cristiano da Matta won at Monterrey). There has never been a race on March 13th. If you are a fan of witnessing history, you will not want to miss this one. Also, March 13th is Marco Andretti's 29th birthday. He could become the tenth driver in IndyCar history to win on their birthday. Not to mention that if James Hinchcliffe returns for this race and takes the green flag, he will be making his 75th career start.
Phoenix: Not only will it be the first IndyCar race at the track in over 11 years, it will be the first IndyCar race on April 2nd since 2006 when Hélio Castroneves won at St. Petersburg. It will be the second Phoenix race to occur on April 2nd. In 1995, Robby Gordon scored his first career victory on the one-mile oval driving for Walker Racing. This race will also occur on what would have been Jack Brabham's 90th birthday. In the off chance Matthew Brabham is in the race, he could accomplish a tremendous feat on a special day for him and his family. It could also be a special day for Will Power, Ryan Briscoe or any other Australia in the field on that day. April 2nd will also be Fabrizio Barbazza's 53rd birthday.
Long Beach: It will be the fourth time the Grand Prix of Long Beach will fall on April 17th. The previous one was in 2011 and won by Mike Conway after the Brit drove passed Dario Franchitti and Ryan Briscoe. The other two were both won by Al Unser, Jr. in 1988 and 1994.
Barber: Scott Dixon has finished second, second, second, second, third and third in six starts at Barber Motorsports Park. Can the defending IndyCar champion finally stand on the top step in Alabama? Can he give Chip Ganassi Racing its first victory at Barber? The seventh Grand Prix of Alabama will be the first race on April 24th since 1966 when Rodger Ward won at Trenton. This will also be Sébastien Bourdais' 150th career start.
Grand Prix of Indianapolis: It is the start of the month of May. Juan Pablo Montoya, Hélio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden and Gabby Chaves will all try to become the third drivers to win on both the oval and road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, joining Alex Lloyd and Jack Harvey. History will be made, not only because the race is occurring at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but also because, like St. Petersburg, it will be the first race on May 14th. Also, if Rodolfo González returns to IndyCar competition, the Venezuelan will have the opportunity to win a race on his 30th birthday.
Indianapolis 500: It is obvious. The 100th Indianapolis 500. You can't help but get goose bumps. That day will be spectacular. We don't know what will happen but it memorable. It will also be the eighth Indianapolis 500 to be run on May 29th. The previous two were won by Dan Wheldon. The first "500" on May 29th was in 1971 and won by Al Unser on his birthday. Unser turns 77th in 2016. In 1982, Gordon Johncock defeated Rick Mears by 0.16 seconds, the closest Indianapolis 500 finish for a decade. The following year, Tom Sneva won his first. Five years after Sneva, Rick Mears won his third. In 1994, the Penske PC-23 Mercedes-Benz 500I owned the day and Al Unser, Jr. took the victory after Emerson Fittipaldi slapped the wall.
You will have Hélio Castroneves going for his fourth. The 2016 race will mark the 25th anniversary of Rick Mears' fourth. It will be the 50th anniversary of Graham Hill's surprise victory as a rookie (I hope Damon Hill is invited for the grand occasion). It will be the 100th anniversary of Dario Resta's victory in the lone year the race was scheduled for 300 miles and it will be the 100th anniversary of Peugeot's last Indianapolis 500 victory (I hope Peugeot representatives are invited to the race).
In non-Indianapolis 500 related storylines: Should Graham Rahal take the green flag and have taken the green flag in the first five races, he would be making his 150th career start.
Belle Isle 1: The weekend after the Indianapolis 500 brings the pressure of doing it again. Only once has the Indianapolis 500 winner gone on to win the next race when it has fallen on June 4th and that Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000. It will also be ten years since the last time IndyCar raced on June 4th and there were two races that day in 2006. Ah, the days of the split. Sébastien Bourdais won at Milwaukee. Scott Dixon won at Watkins Glen.
Belle Isle 2: Twice has an Indianapolis 500 gone on to win on June 5th. Those were Rick Mears in 1988 and Al Unser, Jr. in 1994. Those seasons are the only seasons where the Indianapolis 500 has been on May 29th and there been an IndyCar race on June 5th. It seems as if the Indianapolis 500 will be a shoe-in to win this one. Will that be the base in 2016? Also, both Mears and Unser, Jr. drove for Penske in those seasons. Could 2016 turn out to be Penske's year? This will also make the halfway point of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season. We will get a sense who will be fighting for the championship and who will be fighting for their jobs.
Texas: Since the introduction of the DW12 chassis, the racing at Texas has flipped on its head from pack racing to drivers having to fight their cars and tire degradation. Passing happens as cars fade and pit strategies vary wildly. Some stop within 40 laps. Some stretch it to nearly 60 laps a stint. It is the most fascinating race of the season.
Road America: The long awaited return of the best road course in the United States. Road America is back on the IndyCar schedule. As excited as we all are for this event, this has the feeling of being a race that will let us all down and then leave us questioning ourselves. We have no idea how the cars will race. We have no idea how long caution periods will be. Will the track record of 1:39.866 set by Dario Franchitti in 2000 be broken? Will passing be difficult?
Iowa: The popular short track race has moved to Sunday afternoon. Andretti Autosport enters having won six consecutive Iowa races. This will be the sixth IndyCar race to occur on July 10th, the first since 2011 at Toronto, when Dario Franchitti and Will Power infamously came together. This race will also fall 11 years to the day of Justin Wilson's first career victory, which came at Toronto.
Toronto: Back on its traditional July-date, Toronto marks the final race of the third quarter of the season. There will be four races left and when the teams head back to the States, we will have a clear pictures of who the contenders will be. We will see what the championship leader has to do to keep control of the championship battle. We will know what second, third, fourth, fifth, maybe even sixth have to do to run down the championship leader.
Mid-Ohio: July 31st is Justin Wilson's birthday. Mid-Ohio was the site of Justin Wilson's final podium in what would turn out to be the penultimate race of his career. I have never been a fan of organized memorials. I think they can go too far at times. I think they should be more organic and not turn into an event. However, I'd like to see something done at Mid-Ohio. If the Wilson family doesn't want to be there, that is fine but I would like to see IndyCar do something for this race. With Honda being the sponsor of the race and their relationship with Wilson, perhaps they could use the front straightaway bridge and turn it into a memorial for Wilson.
It will also be 11 years since the last IndyCar races on July 31st and, like June 5th, there were two races that day. Bryan Herta scored his fourth and final IndyCar victory at Michigan and Sébastien Bourdais won the inaugural Grand Prix of San Jose, which feature the first of IndyCar's too many battles with railroad tracks.
Pocono: The obvious narrative is the return to Pocono a year after the death of Justin Wilson. It is a weekend we all need. It was such a freak accident. The series needs it, the track needs it, the drivers need it and the fans need it. We all need to come face-to-face with that day and return to the place where it happened. It is going to be therapeutic and relieving. IndyCar hasn't done that with Las Vegas and it should have. It can't leave places with that being the final memory. It leaves the wrong impression. There was too much finger pointing after Las Vegas and that bridge has never been mended. Fingers should have never been point. The death of Dan Wheldon divided people when it shouldn't have. The death of Justin Wilson could have happened anywhere. It nearly happened at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2014. Pocono Raceway just happened to be the location and hopefully the return in 2016 will give the track a fantastic race and strengthen a relationship that will last a long, long, long time.
This will be the first race on August 21st since 2005 when Dan Wheldon won at Pikes Peak in what turned out to be the final IndyCar race at the track. Is that foreshadowing for the future of IndyCar at Pocono? I hope not. It will also be the second Pocono race to take place on August 21st. The first was in 1988 and won by Bobby Rahal. Can his son Graham repeat his father's feat?
Boston: Is it ironic that the first Grand Prix of Boston will occur four years to the day of the inaugural Grand Prix of Baltimore? Is this foreshadowing of the fate of this event? Baltimore had great crowds but was a disaster. The city never got behind it and it lasted three year. Boston is already against the event. This race isn't even a guarantee to happen. Some say it is. Others say it isn't. The reported deal was for five years but who knows if this race will even make it to year one.
Should Boston (or a replacement race, fingers crossed for Milwaukee) occur on this weekend, Ryan Hunter-Reay could be making his 200th career start and Simon Pagenaud could be making his 100th career start.
Sonoma: The season finale. There is no guarantee the championship will come down to the final race but if it does, the race will be a frantic event, following two, three, four or maybe even five drivers battle out for the Astor Cup.
Sonoma could mark the 100th career start for Charlie Kimball.
Champions From the Weekend
José María López clinched his second consecutive World Touring Car Championship title with a victory in race one from Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand. López finished fourth in race two as Tiago Monteiro took his third victory of the season.
André Couto clinched the Super GT GT300 championship with his second place finish at Autopolis in the #10 Gainer Nissan GT-R GT3 with Katsumasa Chiyo.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about what happened in Thailand but did you know...
Nico Rosberg won the Mexican Grand Prix.
The #17 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard won the 6 Hours of Shanghai, their fourth consecutive victory. The #36 Signatech Alpine-Nissan of Nelson Panciatici, Paul-Loup Chatin and Tom Dillmann won in LMP2. The #91 Porsche of championship leader Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen won in GTE-Pro. In GTE-Am, the #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Emmanuel Collard, François Perrodo and Rui Águas were victorious.
The #1 NISMO Nissan GT-R of Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli won the Super GT race from Autopolis. It was a sweep for Nissan as the #3 NDDP Racing with B-MAX Nissan GT-R GT3 GT300 of Kazuki Hoshino and Mitsunori Takaboshi won in GT300.
Jeff Gordon won the NASCAR Cup race from Martinsville.
Matt Crafton won the NASCAR Truck race from Martinsville.
Coming Up This Weekend
MotoGP season finale from Valencia. Valentino Rossi vs. Jorge Lorenzo for the title.
Super Formula season finale from Suzuka.
Formula E will be in Putrajaya.
V8 Supercars head east to Pukekohe Park Raceway.
NASCAR heads to Texas.
Asian Le Mans Series will run at Sepang.
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