Yellow Shirt Preview: Camping World Grad Prix at Watkins Glen
Thank the mighty heavens, we get to throw a little unpredictability into the series with a trip to one of America's great road racing venues.
Now, when I say unpredictability, I mean that in a relative fashion; Scott Dixon in easily the dominant driver in IndyCars on this track, but at least positions 2-4 have a chance of being someone other than a Penske or Ganassi driver. There is guaranteed to be SOME sort of passing, especially when fast drivers like Dixon, Castroneves, and perhaps Tracy are trying to find their way to the front. Sure, the field will spread out and we'll have some pretty dull portions of the race, but that's road racing and you'll have to deal with it.
As far as the venue itself: how can you argue with the history behind Watkins Glen? In 1948, the village itself hosted the first major non-oval event in America following World War II on some small roads leading up the hills to the village's west. The permanent road course was established in the '50s, and it was in 1961 when Formula One came a-knockin'. The U.S. race at the Glen was a mainstay on the Formula One calendar until 1980, and the track has also hosted a round of the NASCAR schedule for many years. IndyCar recently made its return after a long period of time where running open-wheel cars at the track was seen as too dangerous. The name "Watkins Glen" is pretty much synonymous with road racing in America and the track (with the help of some free grandstands from Nazareth Speedway) has never looked better.
My win-tastic predictions for the race:
Winner: Scott Dixon. Because, DUH! He won three in a row here from 2005-2007, and would've won his fourth in a row in '08 had he not made an uncharacteristic error warming up his tires under yellow and spun the car into Ryan Briscoe's path. Dixon is starting from the second row, has a good pit crew, and is amazing at this track. Case. Closed.
Dark Horse: Justin Wilson. Major nod to the tall guy from England, coming off of many oval races (not Dale Coyne Racing's strong suit) and back onto a few twisty tracks (DCR and Justin's VERY strong suit, as evidenced by the St. Petersburg race). Wilson wowed by putting his car in the front row next to Ryan Briscoe and, if his pit crew can keep up with the bigger teams, he can certainly keep up with the bigger drivers.
Ninja Dark Horse: Mike Conway. Why not, y'know. Big, sweep-turned, undulating-terrain, purpose-built road courses are the former British F3 champ's forte, not narrow streets or big ovals. He placed the car on the third row next to Dario Franchitti and he's certainly not wanting for driver skill. A couple of tough breaks in the early races put Conway behind the 8-ball, but he had a strong race at Iowa. Plus, it'd just be fantastic for Conway and D&R to be challenging for the front of the pack.
Danica Watch: Normally I would write Danica off on a road course, as these cars don't fit her road racing ability very well. However, when I see that she's placed her car on the inside of the fourth row, I start to think that maybe she's got something to bring to the table this week. Top five for Danica.
Race is at 1PM on ABC. Be there!
Yellow Shirt Preview: MotoGP United States Grand Prix
At the other end of the country, on a slightly less historic but no less magnificent ribbon of road draped over a couple of hills between Monterey and Salinas, California, grand prix motorcycle racing takes the U.S. by storm once again.
Seriously, I appreciate the history of Watkins Glen and I understand the setting is nice, but I dare you to find any racetrack in America -- oval or road course -- that can beat Laguna Seca when it comes to scenery. From the hill overlooking Turn 6 and the Rahal Straight, you can see the track, the fence, then a vast valley dotted with trees and houses and framed by more of the sudden, steep mountains common in that part of the world. You can walk to the other side of the same hill and see about half the track, from Turn 10, down the front stretch and through the Andretti hairpin, and through Turn 5, with the bustling paddock contained therein. A short walk away, to the crest of the next hill, you come face-to-face with one of the craziest corners in all of racing: the Corkscrew. Typed words on a blog don't begin to describe what it's like to watch a vehicle drop some 20 feet in elevation over a blind brow in a matter of a couple of seconds, but it's astounding. If you've never been to Laguna Seca, get that done; I recommend the Historic Races in August, but I bet the MotoGP/AMA weekend would be a good one as well.
As for the racing itself, it can vary. Sometimes, as with 2007, the race can be a snoozer with one rider running off with everything. Sometimes, as with 2006, the home team runs off with the victory, as Nicky Hayden was able to do in GP racing's return to Laguna Seca. Or sometimes, you can have a true classic, as with 2008 -- Rossi and Stoner dueled each other nearly to the death in the first half of the race, with the crown jewel being Rossi going Alex Zanardi-style through the dirt at the Corkscrew to take the lead.
Which type of race will this one be? My vote is going towards "Classic". The race I linked to ranks second on my list of greatest motorcycle races I've ever seen, just behind this year's race in Catalunya (video HERE...dig the Italian commentary). This all leads into my pick for the winner of this race...
Winner: Valentino Rossi. The man's just fantastic when it comes to grabbing a bike by the scruff of its neck and making it do whatever he wants. Jorge Lorenzo is just behind Rossi in terms of talent, and they're on equal equipment, but I just can't see Lorenzo taking down the 100-race-winner. Plus, Lorenzo, though he put his Yamaha on pole, had a wicked high-side wreck late in qualifying and he did not look too healthy afterwards. Lorenzo might put up a challenge, but his medical status and Rossi's sheer talent will win the day.
The Home Team: Nicky Hayden (of Owensboro, KY), and Colin Edwards (of Houston, TX). Hayden won this race on the Honda in his world championship season of 2006, but his inability to come to grips with his new Ducati has hampered him in the results department -- expect him to maybe break top ten, but not much more. Edwards' Tech3 team uses a very similar bike to the ultra-dominant Yamaha factory team and the results have been fantastic for the Texas Tornado -- a couple breaks here and there and a little home-race motivation could perhaps send Edwards to the podium.
MotoGP is at 5PM on FOX, so check that out after IRL has wrapped up and you've had a chance to knock back a few Russian Imperial Stouts.
By the way, the finish to the Artist-Formerly-Known-As-The Firecracker 400 was hilariously amazing. Kyle Busch is the most arrogant P.O.S. I've ever seen in my life. Seriously, he tries to throw a block to hold the lead a quarter-mile from the finish and ends up wrecking half the field and nearly killing himself? That scrawny punk wouldn't have lasted five-and-a-half seconds if he pulled crap like that on A.J., Parnelli, Roger, Rathmann, or Herk in the old USAC stocks. He's lucky he didn't end up wrecking Tony Stewart, who went all mature-team-owner-Tony in his victory speech.
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