Sunday, August 30, 2009

Lorenzo Outlasts the Competition at Indianapolis

photo courtesy of motogp.com

...While he was at it, he perfected what shall forever be known as the "Lorenzo Leap".

There's a certain amount of ridiculous available to the world of racing each weekend. The level of ridiculous is directly proportional to the number of races happening in said weekend. With the large number of big-time races happening this weekend, there was plenty to go around.

Unfortunately, the IRL and Formula 1 did not use their full allotment of ridiculous -- otherwise a non-big-two would've won Chicagoland and Giancarlo Fisichella would've passed Raîkkönen's Ferrari to win Belgium -- so the leftovers were released into the public domain. Since the MotoGP race at Indianapolis was the last major event of the weekend, it got its pick of the remains.

As such, the following happened. Dani Pedrosa, far and away fastest on the straightaways, made it down the main straight (quite quickly) three times as the leader before his bike slid out from under him in the final corner of lap 4. That left Yamaha buddies Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo to duke it out until lap 9, when the single most ridiculous racing-related incident of the weekend took place:

Valentino Rossi CRASHED!

Check it out, here's the proof!

So that left Jorge Lorenzo to, for the first time since the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, have a race all to himself.

Scoring one for the home team, for Ducati, and for his future employment, was Nicky Hayden. Hayden survived the race, passed Colin Edwards, and held off Andrea Dovizioso to land on the right side of that picture at the top, in third place. Of note: this was Ducati Corse's FIRST top-flight MotoGP podium by someone other than Casey Stoner -- impressive.

One thing Lorenzo understands fully is that victory at Indianapolis means you get to do this:

The final result:

1 J. LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 47'13.592
2 A. DE ANGELIS San Carlo Honda Gresini + 9.435
3 N. HAYDEN Ducati Team + 12.947
4 A. DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team + 13.478
5 C. EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 26.254
6 J. TOSELAND Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 32.408
7 L. CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 34.400
8 M. KALLIO Ducati Team + 34.856
9 T. ELIAS San Carlo Honda Gresini + 45.005
10 D. PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team + 45.377
11 C. VERMEULEN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 45.478
12 R. DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP + 52.294
13 A. ESPARGARO Pramac Racing + 1'03.552
14 G. TALMACSI Scot Racing Team MotoGP + 1'15.086

Not classified
M. MELANDRI Hayate Racing Team 3 Lap
N. CANEPA Pramac Racing 5 Lap
V. ROSSI Fiat Yamaha Team 16 Lap

Preview: Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix

photo courtesy of indianapolismotorspeedway.com

A wonderful weekend of racing is woefully incomplete if the Greatest Racecourse in the World is not included. Luckily, grand prix motorcycle racing makes its second-ever visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its second visit to the U.S. this year.

One thing about this event compared to, say, that other big international event the Speedway used to hold (F1's U.S.G.P.), is that this track suits bikes very well and makes for a very interesting race. Last year, the remnants of Hurricane Ike, still in low tropical storm guise, played havoc on the event with scads of wind and rain. The 125 cc race was wet and wild, the 250 cc race was canceled outright, and the MotoGP race was contested is some of the worst wind and rain conditions I've ever had the pleasure of sitting in.

And you know what? That race was still fantastic, with Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi going at it for a large portion of the race.

Fast-forward to this year's race: not only are we blessed with fantastic weather today, but this season has included the best intra-team battle in recent memory. Nearly every race has featured a wild battle between FIAT-Yamaha teammates Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. The best moment of the entire season can be re-lived HERE (insert manly Italian weeping...those guys put Spanish soccer announcers to shame). At the most recent contest in Brno, Czech Republic, Lorenzo was putting the charge on Rossi again, but the wily veteran forced the kid into a mistake and Lorenzo low-sided out of the lead.

Another wrinkle in today's race is the presence on the pole position of the man who won the first U.S. event of 2009, Honda's Dani Pedrosa. The Honda is far and away the fastest bike in a straight line, and there's a half-mile's worth of straight line every lap as the cars come through the aluminum canyon that is IMS' front straight. Pedrosa will be a challenger for sure in this race.

The final wrinkle will be how the Americans perform in their home event. Nicky Hayden figures to have a lot of support in the stands, being just under 200 miles from his hometown of Owensboro, KY, and he starts on the outside of the second row in sixth. Personable Texan Colin Edwards starts next to Hayden in fifth and rides what could be the third- or fourth-best bike on the grid: the Tech3 Yamaha. I expect both of these guys to be past fourth-place starter Alex de Angelis pretty quickly and perhaps challenging for a podium slot.

The front of the field, I expect, will be all about the Yamahas. Pedrosa will be strong, but the technical nature of a large portion of the Indianapolis track will put him behind the blue and white bikes. Lorenzo will be challenging hard for the lead as he has all season, but when you've got an eight-time world champion riding the same equipment as you, it's hard to come out on top. Put Rossi down for a second victory at Indianapolis.

Race is at 3PM on FOX...be there! Recap from me later tonight or tomorrow.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Pseudo-Live Blog: Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300


It's time for one of the most exciting races on the IndyCar schedule! How do you make one of the most exciting races better, you ask? Well, you run it under the lights on a Saturday night!

Believe you me, if the Indy Lights race is any indication, we are in for some sort of show when the big cars take to the track. The only drivers in the entire FIL field that weren't consistently side-by-side were Daniel Herrington and Wade Cunningham -- and that's probably because they had gotten their fill of that earlier in the race. There was three-wide racing, and even some FOUR-wide racing in that event, and it held me captive for the entire hour.

As far as the big cars, here are my picks:

Winner: A Penske Car. Just pick one. They start on the front row, they're fast, and as long as Ryan Briscoe is ahead of the Target cars, he'll keep his championship lead. He knows that, and he'll follow Helio to the line if that's what it takes.

Dark Horse: Graham Rahal. I would really like to see this guy win the race. He's been strong at a lot of the other oval tracks, and it's entirely possible that he'll be near the front when the race begins to wind down.

Ninja Dark Horse: Ed Carpenter. After Kentucky, do you really have to question this pick?

Danica Watch: top five, probably. If she's not in the wall at some point, she should be strong here.

Let's repeat that thrilling FIL race; VERSUS' coverage is about to start up!

9:02, pre-race
I was all pumped up, and then they put that stupid "VERSUS and DirecTV are breaking up" crawl at the bottom of the screen. I really don't care right now, thanks. Sonoma carbon-fiber-fest being recapped currently.

9:04, pre-race
Killer Bee Dario talking up Chicagoland with Lindy Thackston, who is now a noted member of the blogoshpere. Recommended reading there, folks!

9:06, pre-race
Fans are huddled about Jack Arute to see if they can get radiative warmth off his fantastically bronzed skin.

9:07, pre-race
Dan Wheldon is the only repeat Chicago winner in the field? How about that for a little-known fact. Recap of how racy this track is....video of Dan Wheldon...THREADING THE NEEDLE in practice.

9:09, pre-race
Scott Dixon: "It's cold out? I hadn't noticed because I have semi-frozen boring running through my veins and have no feelings."

9:14, pre-race
A deep look with Robbie Buhl and Ed Carpenter on how it feels to be that awesome guy who nearly beat Team Penske.

Side note: it's not really a beer of the race, because my selection is nowhere near as classy as those of the pressdog, but I will be consuming a fair amount of Miller High Life tonight. Expect belligerent ranting by lap 150. Also, enjoy this.

9:18, pre-race
If you had RIGHT NOW picked for first mention of the Rookie-of-the-Year battle (which is good, by the way), you win....A CHINESE IPHONE!

9:20, pre-race
Tony Kanaan rips Jack Arute for not being on Twitter...also explains the spat of tweets between himself and Helio over the wreck at Infineon.

9:22, pre-race
Mad shout-out by Lindy to the FIL race today...which was 100% fantastic. Also, a quick note on the fact that Alex Tagliani will be driving....FAZZT next year!

9:27, pre-race
Professor Jon takes us through how ridiculously awesome the Delphi Safety Team is. Lots of computers, procedures, and tests involved.

9:29, pre-race
Mandatory re-living of Briscoe's ridiculous 2005 wreck at Chicago. Today's fun fact: Ryan Briscoe played rugby in Australia, could probably knock me OUT.

9:32, pre-race
Dang...I nearly passed out listening to Floyd's interview of Ryan Briscoe before driver intros. Why does the boring Penske driver have to be the one who's kicking ass this year?

9:35, pre-race
Danica really looks like one of those X Games female snowboarders with her giant Alpinestars beanie and petite self. Being native to these exact weather conditions, she's probably wondering what all the fuss is about.

9:37, pre-race
Jack Arute film noir interrogation of Danica Patrick. Will she spill the beans on next season? Probably not any more than she already has...and Jack Arute refers to her as a "commodity", which is obviously something she does not want to be called...

9:41, pre-race
Still doing the Danica black & white video...she seriously stares lasers at Arute every time the word "commodity" comes up...I gotta give her a lot of credit for being able to take the media attention in stride and still remain at least somewhat sane.

9:43, pre-race
I really should've checked the official schedule before watching...I probably could've napped for a while. SARAH FISHER! is on my TV right now, which wakes me up a bit because she is probably the coolest person in all of racing.

9:46, pre-race
Hideki Mutoh, still painfully single (from all indications), graces the VERSUS broadcast, and TK shows up to talk up the "Find Hideki A Date" campaign. Kanaan is going to pick some lucky girl to go to Homestead and the awards banquet as Hideki's date...and E.J. Viso is apparently Hideki's wingman, which may or may not be a good thing.

9:51, pre-race
Willy T. Ribbs moment! It really was cool when he stuck that bright yellow car on the 500 grid...shot of Silent Pagoda's trash can fire at their happy, beautiful campground.

9:54, pre-race
Video of how TCGR wins mondo races. The secret: be very very boring over the radio. Robbie informs us here that the aero tweaks "are going to work." God help him if he's wrong...

9:56, pre-race
NEWS FLASH! It's chilly and windy in Chicago! As opposed to the winter, when it's downright unreasonable and windy...

9:59, pre-race
What really makes the new ApexBrasil ad legit is that it's voiced by Indianapolis radio personality Laura Steele, who lends that sultry voice to stuff like the Bob & Tom Show, many local advertisements and Q95...oh, and the IMS PA system...and that's a good thing

10:01, pre-race
Time for the command! Well done, boring boring man with long corporate title from Advance Auto Parts!

10:02, pre-race
In order to maximize pre-race boredom, the league is keeping the cars on the grid longer and giving them an extra warm-up lap to get the cars nice and toasty for maximum performance.

10:04, pre-race
Starting grid: Briscoe, Castroneves, Franchitti, Kanaan, Rahal, Dixon, Andretti, Moraes, Servia, Patrick, Wheldon, Carpenter, Mutoh, Scheckter, Wilson, Conway, Matos, Hunter-Reay, Fisher, Viso, Duno, Doornbos, Lazier

Lap 1
GREEN GREEN GREEN! Sort of decent start. Lots of side-by-side-by-side already...Briscoe leads the first lap.

Lap 3
We're already watching Danica zing around the back...near pass for the lead through Turn 4.

Lap 5
Ed Carpenter, with killer ownage around a huge group of cars....bright yellow = fast.

Lap 8
Dixon had been relatively slow...suddenly not so much as he goes after Briscoe for the lead.

Lap 10
Too much excitement! Must have ad break! What with the floodlights and the various flourescent-colored cars at the front, the side-by-side is a blur of brightness.

Lap 17
Back from commercials. Steady Eddie blew by Helio and is FOURTH now.

Lap 20
Apparently, AGR re-geared all of their cars this morning. from what we've seen so far, that may not have been the best idea. Their drivers are grabbing gears mid-corner and losing position.

Lap 24
Here's something that's probably not a surprise: Tomas Scheckter is wildly fast right now...SCYTHING through the field (yes! I got to use that word!)

Lap 27
Rahal and Servia are 6th and 7th. Good on ya, N/H/L!

Lap 29
Let's do a quick top ten update: Briscoe, Dixon, Fran-fisher (it's the yellow car), Carpenter, Helio, Rahal, Servia, Moraes, Scheckter, Wilson. Kanaan just lost a TON of spots.

Lap 34
OMG moment in the VERSUS booth as Rahal nearly pops the front wing off Moraes' car. Good evasion by Moraes; warning to Rahal from IHJ.

Lap 38
Good job by the VERSUS behind-the-scenes people, working with prof. Jon to explain aero differences between various cars...definite Steve Matchett moment there.

Lap 43
Nothing gets the blood going quite like watching T&S during a full-screen ad break!

Lap 45
RHR, about to set the pick and cause some silliness, and we cut away as fast as possible for pit stops.

Lap 48
LOTSA pit stops. Briscoe, Carpenter, and someone else in and out. Briscoe makin' it happen FAST!

Lap 50
At the quarter post! Battle for the lead coming...who exits the pits first? Scott Dixon may be the big winner here, but the Penske cars are stalking him.

Lap 52
Trafficus Maximus behind Ed Carpenter. He appears to be single-handedly making the race interesting right now.

Lap 55
Marco Andretti trying the REALLY outside line, looking to go three wide in the back of Trafficus Maximus.

Lap 57
Battle for the lead! Dixon and Briscoe...SIDE-BY-SIDE! Neither man giving an inch here as their respective posses catch up behind them.

Lap 60
What if all four of these guys crashed right now? Wouldn't that just be ridiculous?

Lap 62
On my list of "Things That Would Make This Battle Better", the IZOD music is pretty low. Briscoe snatches the position, finally. Helio looking to follow.

Lap 65
Marco is HOOKED UP. He's the only guy consistently running the waaaay outside line and making it work.

Lap 68
The current situation: big two are running together, then five second back to a MASSIVE CLUSTERBOMB! That led by Carpenter, still.

Lap 70
A "debris caution" would really spruce things up here...not to say that the racing isn't exciting, but i'd like to see it be exciting for the lead.

Lap 72
Marco in the pits?! Oh man, he didn't get a full tank on his first pit stop...his totally awesome race: OVER...probably.

Lap 75
MASSIVE gaggle of lapped cars causing issues with the leaders. Briscoe goes THREE WIDE to get by all of them.

Lap 79
Dario looks to challenge Dixon in the traffic for second? Helio catching back up to the Target guys.

Lap 83
I've been calling the wrong leader and fourth place for some time now. Maybe it's because the Penske cars look...EXACTLY THE F**KING SAME.

Lap 88
Gap from 4th to 5th now over 8 seconds...the leaders caught traffic and GAINED ground.

Lap 92
YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW! Painfully single Hideki Mutoh catches the wall with the back of the car. If you just pitted, you're screwed. If you haven't pitted, you're gravy. If you're Marco Andretti, you wonder why your tank was half-filled back on lap 40-something.

Lap 95
No conclusive replays on the Mutoh wreck...judging by where it happened and the past reputation of the team, I'd say something broke on the backstretch.

Lap 96
PIT STOPS! It's Dixon, Helio, Dario, Carpenter, Scheckter (!) out on the top. Briscoe had a fuel fill problem..caused by him missing the mark in his box. Wheldon looks to be blowed up...looks like in the half-shaft region.

Lap 100
Halfway through, we are! Still under yellow. Briscoe's mishap puts Fran-fisher in the championship lead by all of a point.

Lap 101
We are...GREEN! Carpenter with an immediate challenge for third. Dixon rockets off. Moraes and Scheckter goin' at it for fifth.

Lap 104
Dixon and Helio doin' it for the lead right now...the field is starting to catch up and make this one FUUUUUUN. Moraes for fourth!

Lap 106
Moraes for THIRD! Side by side, three rows deep, now THREE WIDE in the third row!

Lap 109
Scheckter and Moraes battling for THIRD! YELLOW YELLOW! Marco's very high line takes him a touch TOO high...white-walled the tires, but the suspension is all straight from what I can see.

Lap 111
OOOH! DirecTV is upping the ante on Comcast, callin' those greedy jerks (who own VERSUS) for making "unreasonable demands". This is some real, high school-level drama here.

Lap 112
RHR hit pit lane with the unreasonable thought that the pits would be open after three laps of yellow for what amounted to nothing. Those sorts of thoughts are dangerous, boy!

Lap 113
PIT STOPS...? Lotsa guys in, but not Scheckter. Moraes beat EVERYONE. Matos did well too. Carpenter the big loser on this round.

Lap 115
Order when the restart finally rolls around: Scheckter (!), Kanaan, Moraes (!), Fran-fisher, Matos, Dixon, Helio, Carpenter, Rahal, Patrick

Lap 117
GREEN GREEN GREEN! Kanaan looking for the lead. Fran-fisher jumps on Scheckter for second, Matos tryin' THREE WIDE!

Lap 118
Eddie under Moraes for fourth. BIG FIGHT FOR POSITION!

Lap 122
Carpenter, Moraes, Dixon THREE WIDE for fourth. This...this is good stuff.

Lap 125
This would be the perfect time to not go to an ad break, thanks. Seriously...is VERSUS that poor?

Lap 130
The Target guys have hooked up for the top spot and Moraes is chasing them down...fourth on back is a massive CLUSTERBOMB!

Lap 132
The Penske cars have, miraculously, fallen prey to Danica, who is in 12th.

Lap 135
We've gone to....ANOTHER AD BREAK! And this one's a fullscreen! HUZZAHHH!

Lap 138
In spite of all the dumb crap that's happened to him so far, Marco is up to 13th, on the lead lap...that's just crazy.

Lap 140
Dixon, Fran-fisher, Moraes....fourth on back still ridiculous.

lap 143
I really wish DirecTV and Comcast would stop posturing via my TV screen...I'M TRYING TO WATCH SOMETHING HERE.

Lap 147
Things have calmed down a bit...we still have one pit stop before things go nutty...another ad break!

Lap 150
At the three-quarter pole, it's Fran-fisher, Dixon, Moraes, Briscoe, Kanaan, Servia, Carpenter, Rahal, Wilson, Andretti.

Lap 152
Remember the '06 500, when Hornish had a catastrophic pit stop, then came back to win? Yeah, Briscoe is on pace to easily do that.

Lap 153
Scheckter, who didn't pit on the last yellow, does so now. Kanaan follows.

Lap 159
Fran-fisher pits! Briscoe took second while I was spaced out. No one else looking to pit just yet...

Lap 162
N/H/L teammies side by side for what is now third...Servia dives for the pits, though.

Lap 164
Dixon has an alternate identity...which is an oil refinery. Seriously, nobody "makes fuel" like Scott Dixon.

Lap 166
Dixon and Helio in! Dixon out ahead of Helio...will he have the lead? Looks like he's got it by miles and miles. Briscoe was in lapped traffic while trying to catch Dixon.

Lap 170
30 to go! Will anything ridiculous happen?

Lap 173
We could totally use a "debris caution" here....the boredom is intense now.

Lap 175
Marco Andretti trying his damndest to make this race interesting. Still has the waaaay outside line owned. Currently in seventh, is he.

Lap 180
Moraes, Eddie, and Marco, three wide for fifth...MUCH better than the lead pack (or lack thereof...)

Lap 185
15 to go...YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW! Helio crashes out of third! We were watching the battle for fifth, looking for the wreck. Instead, Helio's suspension very obviously broke and shoved the car into the wall.

Lap 186
The last stretch of this race...will be interesting, to say the least. Obviously, Helio was target of the IRL snipers, out in force to make this race interesting.

Lap 188
They are running an ungodly slow pace under yellow here. Under 70 MPH. I applaud this, as it will give us more awesome at the end.

Lap 192
Nine laps of racing to go, and we are...GREEN GREEN GREEN! Front three in line, Rahal holding up the rest of the pack in fourth.

Lap 194
Rahal now catching back up to Fran-fisher...now trying for third!

Lap 196
Rahal really takin' the battle to the big guys with FIVE to go!

Lap 197
Briscoe, trying for the leeeead!

Lap 198
THREE WIDE FOR THE LEAD! RAHAL RAHAL RAHAL!

Lap 200
Rahal fell back, Briscoe and Dixon for the lead!

Checkered Flag!
BRISCOE AT THE LINE! Dixon (+.0077), Moraes (!), Fran-fisher, Rahal (!), Carpenter, Servia, Scheckter, Matos, Wilson, Andretti, Patrick, Kanaan, Fisher, Hunter-Reay, Conway, Viso, Doornbos, Lazier, Castroneves, Duno, Wheldon, Mutoh.

We'll count that as the fourth-closest finish in league history, and what a finish it was. I really thought Grahamburglar would have the run off the way high line towards the end, but he wiggled a bit and fell back. Moraes was real strong on that very last lap and might've had another shot if the race were 201 laps long. History will show the big teams took the top spots, but once again, it was all about who was coming along behind them. Fantastic racing for little guys KV and N/H/L.

My predictions were actually not too shabby: a Penske car won and Rahal made a really strong late run before finishing fifth. Carpenter was decently strong, but couldn't break top five in the end...still, not too bad. Danica Watch was waaaaay off, with Lady Danica finishing outside the top ten.

All in all, a pretty damn good race. The circus has a couple weeks off before it hits the big oval in Japan, Twin Ring Motegi. Of course, channel 603 may be going dark for me on Tuesday, but whatever...I don't know that I'll even be awake for Motegi, so I won't concern over it too much.

Midnight is upon us (on eastern time, at least), and the weekend's racing has just begun! F1's most excellent event (Belgium) early in the morning (Speed), ALMS from Mosport out in Ontario (Speed), MotoGP from Indianapolis (FOX). All great, world class events, and highly-recommended viewing. Ciao!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Support Your Local Speedway


Every once in a while, assuming it makes sense with my schedule and my pocketbook, I'll take a Friday night and make a journey to Bloomington Speedway to take in some real, live short-trackin'. Chiefly, I do this because I really love to watch motorized vehicles go fast and because the sound of giant, stock-block V8s rumbling around a 1/4-mile oval is just fantastic.

I also like to go there because, at its heart, Bloomington Speedway is yet another locally-owned business -- just like Nick's Bar or Mother Bear's Pizza (both highly recommended if you're in Bloomington, by the way). A good way to keep the economy of a town going is to put money into the coffers of a local business, especially if that business presents a fantastic product. This holds true from the eastern tip of Maine to the islands of Hawai'i and in every country on the planet.

Since I'm a resident of Central Indiana, I also like to pour some money into the economy of Indianapolis. I go to Pacers games, Colts games, the State Fair, Shapiro's Deli, Dawson's on Main in Speedway, Union Jack Pub, shops in Broad Ripple, some places in Carmel and Westfield...so on and so forth. The one local business in Indianapolis gets more of my business than just about any place on the planet is the local speedway -- you know, that place out on 16th Street.

Sure, it's a corporation, and sure, it's run in a rather questionable way sometimes. However, the fact remains: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway started as a local, privately-owned business, and it remains as such to this day. In this slowly recovering economy, where locally-owned businesses were hit harder than just about anyone, places like the Speedway need as much support as they can get.

Many fans of auto racing in America have this us-versus-them attitude when it comes to who they pull for. There's this idea that you can support NASCAR or you can support the IRL, but you can't support both. When the Brickyard 400 rolls around, IRL fans will point to the vast swaths of bare aluminum at the Speedway and claim victory for their favorite form of motorsport. Likewise, NASCAR folks will point to empty seats at Chicagoland, Homestead or Kansas and claim a victory for themselves.

What people don't realize sometimes is this: if an IRL race at an ISC track bombs, it ultimately hurts their partner, NASCAR; if the Brickyard 400 bombs, the IRL's parent company loses out on money.

With the Speedway's "other" event starting up tomorrow, I put this simple plea out to people within and without Central Indiana: support your Speedway. If you can, go to the MotoGP race. Even if you've never seen a motorcycle race in your life and think it's probably a waste of time since it's not your favorite motorsport, quit prejudging and go to the race.

While you're at it, apply for tickets to next year's Brickyard 400 and Indianapolis 500. Maybe you don't like MotoGP, NASCAR or the IRL, but that money, whether its $20, $45 or $150, goes into keeping a locally-owned business open and bringing your preferred product to you every year.

Who knows, maybe you'll even discover that you like the other races...I certainly follow MotoGP a lot more now than I did before last year.

MotoGP preview and IRL pseudo-live blog forthcoming. See you then!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Updates on Various Drivers

-Sarah Fisher, recent recipient of a shiny new Dallara, will be painting her new car pink for the Homestead-Miami race way off in the distant future known as October. Her pink-ness will have some sort of tie-in to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, one of those charities that sticks out above the rest for simply how prolific and awesome they are. Details forthcoming on how Sarah fans can get involved in the charitable giving...or you can just give through the above link. Either way, many will appreciate it.

-From future pink car drivers to past pink car drivers, Alex "Pink" Lloyd seems to be inching closer to a return to the track. According to 16th & Georgetown, Alex says it's better than 50/50 that he'll have a ride by year's end. James speculates N/H/L's #06, currently piloted by Oriol Servia, and I don't see much reason to disagree with that speculation. If that's the case, we'll need to come up with a new, McDonald's-themed nickname for "Pink".

-Some driver named Danica Patrick is apparently getting a new contract with whatever AGR is named next year. Nothing's done yet, according to team honcho Michael Andretti, but when both Curt Cavin and Robin Miller say it's a done deal, I'm going to just mark that down as a done deal.

-Nelson Philippe, following his awful crash during practice at Sonoma, has got to be done for 2009. He has the open fracture on his foot, a compound fracture of his ankle, a broken leg, and a concussion; no doctor in their right mind would clear him to get up and make breakfast for at least a month.

-Also featured in aforementioned accident was Will Power. Deep-voiced hair product endorser Dave Calabro from Channel 13 just informed be that Will may be moved to Indianapolis (presumably to Methodist Hospital) soon. Some are speculating that Will may find his way back into a car by the end of '09, but who knows what El Capitan will go for in that situation.

-In Indy Lights news, the gal with the coolest name ever given to someone from Minnesota, Leilani Münter, is returning to the track this weekend in Joliet. Her car is sponsored by the ladies' version of Extenze, which is not suitable for discussion amongst children. That aside, it's fantastic to see Leilani, a champion of carbon-neutrality and a fine person to be around from all accounts, back on the IndyCar scene. If you've got money to throw around after your donation to the Komen Foundation, buy some recycled-material Leilani swag.

It's past midnight, so my brain has shut down and I can't think of any more driver news at this point...more to come as 2010 starts to loom on the horizon.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Pseudo-Live Blog: Indy Grand Prix of Snore-noma

Oh yes, the moment we've all been waiting for has arrived. Now that ovals are apparently interesting again, we celebrate today as the final non-circular race of the year.

Draped over the side of a hill in one of the nicest bits of the world (Sonoma County, California) is one of the most boring race tracks in the history of the world (The Artist Formerly Known As Sears Point Raceway). Sure, the track is picturesque and quite technical, but there is only one passing zone in the entire place, and one of the only redeeming bits (the esses) is broken up for IndyCar by a stupid chicane in the interest of safety.

Interestingly enough, the most dangerous part of the track seems to be not the big wall at the bottom of the esses, but the blind brow at the exit of Turn 4. As this video will show you, Nelson Philippe got loose out of the turn and ended up parked on the racing line on the other side of the hill. E.J. Viso managed to put on the brakes and nipped the nose off of Philippe's car. Will Power was slightly less lucky, made full contact with the front half of Philippe's car, and came out with two busted vertebrae and a concussion for it. In the "I Drive Green" car, Philippe had an open fracture in one of his feet and his own concussion. Luckily, this didn't happen on an oval, or we'd have a Paul Dana or Alex Zanardi situation on our hands.

As for my predictions on the race itself...:

Winner: Dario Franchitti. Brian Barnhart, Iron Hand of Justice, has been quoted as saying he who takes pole position has the right to lead the field into the first turn. Sears Point is an impossible track on which to pass. Dario Franchitti, being the polesitter, is therefore a shoe-in to win this race.

Dark Horse: Marco Andretti. Before he became the first name in post-race complaining, Marco Andretti was a race winner at this track (2006). Marco will need to make some solid moves to find the lead, then hope Hideki Mutoh or someone magically spins their car at a place where cars generally don't spin while Marco is desperately trying to save fuel, and he'll win again.

Ninja Dark Horse: Franck Montagny. Sure, Andretti-Green Racing has competed in the IRL for many years now, but longtime Indy Lights team AFS/Andretti-Green has never been listed as an entrant in the top tier...UNTIL TODAY! Franck "The Tank" qualified a solid sixth on the grid and certainly has the road racing experience to put himself near the top.

Danica Watch: This is an interesting one for Danica: she has apparently made her decision for next year and appears to be all-but-signed with Mike Andretti for a few years. Will she turn the wick down on this season, or will she drive harder now that her future has apparently been determined? I say she's lucky to come out with a top ten.

VERSUS broadcast has begun...HERE WE GO...to sleep!

5:05, pre-race
Bob Jenkins has informed us that part of this pre-race show will be a big snake with Jack Arute...which sounds like the name of the worst adult film anyone could imagine.

5:07, pre-race
Requisite interviews with the uninteresting, accented guys who will probably be in contention to win...I really payed no attention to what was being said.

5:09, pre-race
Injury update! Willy P. is apparently doing okay for someone whose car got slaughtered yesterday. Nelson Philippe has a busted foot and busted leg, but should be fine in time. Will has job security, of course, but Nelson might have a tough go getting off of this injury and back into these cars, in my opinion.

5:13, pre-race
Jack Arute and Michael Andretti, on top of a scenic mountain somewhere, talk up the deal with Danica. Mike says nothing done yet, but he sounds optimistic. Also of note: AGR has five cars in the top 11 on today's grid...that's pretty solid.

5:15, pre-race
Danica, being coy as usual. She happens to be that 11th-place AGR car.

5:19, pre-race
Lindy Thackston goes deep into the behind-the-scenes of IndyCar ownership: owners with wineries. Jimmy Vasser and Kevin Kalkhoven are teaming up to get Lindy drunk off the wines they grow. Apparently, Jimmy's is better according to some testers at the winery. As an aside, if you are out in Sonoma sometime, do take a trip to Andretti Winery; it's a fantastic little place and they actually make some pretty solid grape juice there.

5:22, pre-race
Apparently, the driver intros are done with trolley cars instead of the usual pickup truck. You know...that's actually kinda cool.

5:31, pre-race
Apparently, Helio and Mario Moraes ran afoul of each other in pre-race warmups today. By the way, a warm welcome back to Mario, who's back from Brazil and his father's funeral.

5:33, pre-race
FINALLY! An exposé on how ridiculous E.J. Viso is. Jack Arute gets some valuable time with E.J.'s pet snake while E.J. laughs his ass off. I've never seen Arute so completely flummoxed as when he was wrapped in a boa constrictor.

5:36, pre-race
I am completely offended right now...Robbie called the second-grandest event in all of classic automobilia the "Concourse de Elegance" with the lamest American accent that anyone could possibly put on. Robbie Buhl now talking up the Historic GP, which is actually something that is entirely cool...nothing like the Monterey Historics, though.

5:41, pre-race
Wait...Scott Dixon had a problem in qualifying? I've seriously been so out of it for the past couple days that it's silly...

5:45, pre-race
Some women's basketball player just called the command -- much better than the librarian or whoever last race -- and we are ready and rarin' to go.

5:49, pre-race
One more trip through the hills before we light this candle. Buckle up and get your pot of coffee going, kids!

Lap 1
GREEN GREEN GREEN! Briscoe nearly crashed on the start. Montagny is off-course, Patrick followed, and Scott Dixon is parked dead-center on the racetrack. Graham Rahal has also had issues...as has Viso, and finally we are...YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW!

Lap 2
I can't even begin to tell you exactly what happened there...a lot of cars ran up each others' asses in Turn 1. Micheal Andretti is welcomed to the new era of being sole operator of his team by having (I think) FOUR of his five cars involved in the calamity. Oops.

Lap 3
Judging by who hit the pits on timing & scoring, here's who I think was involved: Kanaan Dixon, Andretti, Duno, Conway, Montagny, Rahal, Patrick, and Viso. There may have been more. Rahal is out due to a busted driveshaft.

Lap 5
We are GREEN! Much cleaner running this time as Dario, Briscoe, and Helio try to run off from the field.

Lap 6
Justin Wilson took a pit stop before the start, started from the back, and got to simply drive past the calamity at the second turn. He has picked up all of ELEVEN positions. He's now coming in to get red tires (he has three sets) and into clear track. Iiiiinteresting strategy.

Lap 9
Some sick side-by-side on the side-by-side by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Bobby D. Bobby nearly put it off the track in Turn 7 under pressure from the Foyt Racing car.

Lap 10
Naturally, we only watch that totally interesting battle during side-by-side and switch back to a bunch of nothing when the broadcast is back on full. Smooth move, Herr Direktor.

Lap 12
The field appears to have paired off into little battles. Dario/Briscoe up front, Helio/Mutoh next, Wheldon/Moraes, then BobbyD/RHR.

Lap 14
Mario Moraes is fast...if he doesn't run into anyone, watch out.

Lap 16
There's less than a second between the leaders and we JUST NOW switched back to them...after watching Moraes do nothing for a while.

Lap 18
Wow...Homestead and the IRL are apparently PROMOTING A RACE. Apart from their dubious use of the word "celebrity" over a shot of Tara Reid, I'd say that's a good thing.

Lap 22
Ryan Hunter-Reay has used 7 of his overtake button pushes and still hasn't gotten around Bobby D. Proof that, no matter what you do to the car, technology cannot defeat a poor track.

Lap 25
A third of the way into the race, and pit stops for something other than busted front wings begin. Dixon and Andretti in and out, Dixon gets by Andretti as Marco exits the pit lane.

Lap 26
Graham Rahal strapping back in, hoping every other car on track spontaneously combusts.

Lap 27
Lotsa guys in...except for Dario...and Mike Conway...and there was a near pit fire in Moraes' pit.

Lap 28
Franchitti in...pass for the lead coming....? Wow, no. Dario out miles ahead of Briscoe. Meantime, RHR knocked his wing off on the back of Oriol Servia's car...racing incident, judging by the replays.

Lap 30
Justin Wilson nearly punted Dixon off the road on his out lap. Wilson's ridiculous pit strategy is causing problems for him right now.

Lap 31
Some ridiculous bottlenecking going on...the big loser of the group was one Danica Patrick. In the meantime, the entire field is in pretty much the same order it was before the pit stops.

Lap 35
I didn't recognize Mike Conway's car because he's picked up some new sponsor-ness. Mikey is puttin' the heat on Danny Wheldon while Oriol Servia lurks in the background.

Lap 36
This otherwise boring track has been made much more interesting by the fact that Scott Dixon dropped way back at the start and is now punching his way through the field.

Lap 40
Moving Chicane puts some interest into the massive battle for 12th. J. Willy was all up in Bobby D's business, other cars were going three wide behind them...it was kinda ridiculous.

Lap 41
As I watch my television, the battle for the lead gets steadily more interesting. Helio has now caught up to Briscoe and Dario...possible team orders? Probably. Also, Will Power is providing live commentary via text message from the hospital.

Lap 44
If you voted right now for first Rafa Matos mention of the day, you win...A NEW CAR! Unfortunately, we got your car from the "clunker" lot at the dealer down the street. Franck The Tank stuck in the pits, not going anywhere anytime soon.

Lap 45
yo HOOO! It appears Montagny was put out by a somewhat optimistic move on Richie Antinucci's part. The Ant appears to not be damaged...but we'll find out when recess (ad break) is over.

Lap 48
Helio nearly provided a fun twist to things by trying the inside line/Briscoe's right sidepod through Turn 2

Lap 49
Briscoe nearly took himself out that time...replay shows him locking up about five inches off Helio's nose...there will be a day-glo and white mess at the side of the road soon, methinks.

Lap 52
This race toggles between absolute nothingness and intense interest on a regular basis. It's nearly tolerable.

Lap 53
It turns out that the pit-in is really fun if you're a foot behind your teammate...the car in front brakes for the turn, and you don't, and the VERSUS crew FREAKS OUT!

Lap 54
Who are these f**king TV directors! The whole commentating crew begins to have an OMG moment, and you f**king CUT AWAY!?!? For a f**king PIT STOP?!?!?! And then we go to the replay and it turns out Kanaan nearly flipped Helio the f**k over?! You, sir, are an IDIOT of EPIC PROPORTIONS.

Lap 57
Lap 57 of 75...I like that. I was nearly enjoying this race when I got pissy at the director. It's like when you go to a bar with friends, are having fun, you step up to the bar, and the bartender acts a damn fool to you. Night ruined. That's about where I am right now.

Lap 59
VERSUS shows college football, which is awesome. DirecTV is about to drop VERSUS, which is completely lame. TV execs are on the level of sports agents as far as their conniving and greed.

Lap 60
Okay, I'll stop my commentary on the TV industry by mentioning that Helio had some sort of issue due to his contact with Kanaan. Mutoh has chewed and swallowed Helio for third, as some aerodynamic bit has come off of Helio's car.

Lap 62
In the "Brian Barnhart is an Idiot" files, Paul Bunyan's switchblade appears to be lying open on the inside of Turn 1...and there's no yellow? We throw yellows for bits of origami falling on the track at ovals, and there isn't even a local here? Insanity.

Lap 64
Oh...Briscoe has caught back up to Dario. Can he actually pass him this time? I doubt it. We'll find out after the recess.

Lap 66
10 to go! Dario and Briscoe holding station...and will probably stay that way. Roger Penske said so himself. This is why I hate points.

Lap 67
Here's my thought: Winning the points championship should win you a $100 VISA gift card -- we interrupt this rant to bring you Helio spinning and RHR parked at the side of the road. YELLOW!

Lap 68
Helio has had a really fun day so far. He got bumped off by Kanaan earlier and got airborne, then he got a broke suspension and flew the car sideways over the brow of a hill...FUN!

My earlier rant: The points championship should win you a $100 VISA gift card and each race should pay $1m to win. That way you won't have these dull fellows from the red-and-white teams talking about how they might stay back and gather points for the championship. You know...the people at Sonoma aren't going to see the hoisting of that big silver cup...neither are the people at Chicago or Motegi. Go out there and give the paying customer a damn good show!

Lap 71
This is a really long yellow so they can figure out how to remove a car from a completely ridiculous spot. Here's a thought: push it behind the wall and let's get this race over with.

Lap 72
GREEN! Dario keeps things interesting by...rocketing away. Big gaggle of cars following each other around behind him. J. Willy trying his durndest to get around Servia. Dixon puts the mighty pass on Marco. Back to Wilson as they head for the stripe.

Lap 73
This battle for 6th sure is swell. In the meantime, Conway is in FOURTH....er, THIRD!

Lap 74
Wilson just four-wheel-drifted through the hairpin and only lost one spot. That was some serious driving by a lot of guys there.

Lap 75
White flag out! Dario running away from the field...lots of interesting stuff going on behind him, though. Dixon has moved into the top 10, amazingly enough.

Checkered Flag!
Dario goes...WIRE TO WIRE! Not bad behind him, though...MIKE CONWAY IS THIRD! Briscoe second. Moraes, Mutoh, Servia, Wilson, Kanaan, Matos, Doornbos, Andretti, Carpenter, Wheldon, Dixon (spun out of 10th to 14th), Antinucci, Patrick, Duno, Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, Montagny, Rahal, Viso.

Dixon was punted out of the way by -- guess who! -- Marco Andretti. I would be surprised if the Sheet Aluminum Hand of Faffing About (that'd be Barnhart) called him into the office for a chat.

I'm knocking on every piece of wood in my apartment right now because VERSUS has yet to interview...or even SHOW Ashley Judd. Lindy Thackston's mic is barely working anyway...someone should really consider charging everyone's battery before the race.

Three words that I despise: "Consistency Wins Championships". Ryan Briscoe mildly interested in the fact he now holds the points lead. Needs to go to the motorhome for some intense post-race chamomile tea and some chicken broth...the most EXTREME food on Earth.

Easy peazy, Conweezy gettin' the interview action for a spectacular third place. Good race for the youngster and a well-deserved shoutout to his boss-in-the-booth, Robbie Buhl. Enjoy it while it lasts, 'cause we're goin' oval racing for the rest of the year.

Scott Dixon made quite a few passes on quite a lot of people. My my, Scott, how scandalous. Unfortunately, he's not ROYALLY PISSED at Marco, who could have killed his championship race...we'll find out in several weeks.

My predictions were pretty easy, because this is Sonoma. Sure, this was a slightly more interesting edition of Sonoma, but you can't change how ridiculous this track is. Dario was the natural pick to win and that's that. Mutoh looked good until he got straight duped by Conway and Moraes on the penultimate lap. Fifth ain't too shabby, though. Montagny...man, what an unlucky debut for him. Lots of broken car around him today.

Thank the heavens, it's ovals from here on out. Next is the wild-n-crazy oval at Chicagoland which, for the first time, is being lit up and run on a Saturday night. If there's anything that could make the wild race that is usually Chicagoland better, it's lights. See you then, folks!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Grand-Am to Test at IMS

I'm not sure if this is akin to the infamous NASCAR "tire test" in 1993 that opened the door for stock car racing at the Brickyard, but it is certainly pretty interesting.

Daytona Prototypes and Grand Touring cars from the other series that calls Daytona home will take advantage of the Speedway being in road course configuration for 8/30's MotoGP Indianapolis Grand Prix. Unlike that infamous day back in '93, neither side is being coy about this test: this is a feasibility study, through and through.

Several teams from both classes of Grand-Am racing will be involved, representing each car/engine combination that I can think of from that series. Notable in his absence, though, is the winningest person ever to grace the hallowed grounds, Roger Penske. IndyCar owner and dominator of most-things-Grand-Am Chip Ganassi will be there with his Lexus/Riley.

Of course I have an opinion on this, but it's hardly worth it to go over the benefits and drawbacks of Grand-Am over ALMS. After all, the series I love and follow most is a spec series with little technology itself.

Full details on the test HERE.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

F1 Just Got Slightly Less Interesting

One of the cooler story lines going into the European Grand Prix at Valencia just got shut down: Michael Schumacher will not be driving Ferrari's F60 at that race or any other this season.

From what Mr. Schu has told us, he has a bit of a crick in his neck that, when he's standing around in the Ferrari garage accruing money or thrashing a superbike around, doesn't pose a problem. Unfortunately, things like 4Gs in the turns and 0-60 in .00056 seconds compound on the problem a bit and the man who is, statistically, the most successful driver in grand prix racing will keep the helmet on the shelf.

There is a good outcome from this and a bad outcome from this:

First, the bad: the organizers of the Valencia race cannot be happy right now. The possibility of seeing Schumi drive a Ferrari again sold tickets on a massive scale for them. Now, that sales boost is gone and all of those people who spent copious amounts of money to see Schumi race are going to be unhappy. Add that to the people who are going to be pissy depending on the result of Renault's appeal of their one-race ban, and to say there might be some vitriol in Valencia would be a huge understatement.

Second, the good: Luca Badoer, faithful employee of the Scuderia for years, will finally get his shot to race in a red car. Luca has raced before with Scuderia Italia/Minardi and Forti, with his best result being a 7th at San Marino in his rookie season of 1993. Ten years ago, he took a spot as Ferrari's permanent test driver and has logged more laps in Ferraris than just about any of the drivers who have driven the Grands Prix in that same span. As Rick Mears or Will Power might tell you, it can be better to be a simple employee of a top-flight race team than the top dog on many other teams. Luca has put in his time as a grunt, and now he gets his big chance in the spotlight. Watch out for the reaction from the Tifosi at Monza when the dedicated Italian in the Italian car takes to the grid.

One thing that is good for the Scuderia in this situation: while other teams didn't want to allow Schumi to test the F60, Luca has been in the car for just about every stage of its preseason development. Nobody -- and I mean nobody -- knows this car better than Luca Badoer.

Cars on course at Valencia next Friday. For those of you who like the parade nature of the IRL's roadies and streeties, you will absolutely love the Valencia round of the F1 championship. See ya.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Review: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio


Well, i have just recovered consciousness after watching the Mid-Ohio race on my DVR last night. This photo was taken just before a mass blackout on the levels of that new ABC show whose name I can't recall.

Lurking not-too-far in the distance ahead of J-Willy and The Most Uninteresting Man In The World is Milka "The Pick" Duno. Milka, being a full SEVEN seconds off the pace at a track where passing can be damn near impossible, gave Scotty the opportunity he needed to take the lead and never look back. As J-Will was trying to figure out what he should do to get around "The Pick", Scotty jammed his car down the inside line and forced Wilson onto the outside line, which is apparently paved with industrial-strength lubricant. Done, aaaaaand done.

I took two things out of this little event:

1) I'll start with the criticism here: Why is there only killer grippy sealed pavement on the very inside of just about every turn on this track? If you're gonna seal or pave in a corner, do it 100%. When Dixie passed J-Will, it was completely obvious that J-Will had absolutely zero grip on the outside and lost the position for that very reason. If J-Will had been able to get the power down, he might've held on for the inside line in the next turn and made that battle a lot more interesting.

2) Milka "The Pick" is good for the league for one reason: she takes a race that could've been exceedingly boring and threw a wrench in it. She provides a neat obstacle on the road courses so the drivers don't fall asleep and so VERSUS can force awkward answers out of Danica regarding Milka's lack of understanding of blue flags. She's a monstrous danger on the 220-m.p.h. ovals, but she provides some measure of fun on the roadies.

The Mid-Ohio race also showed us why the top teams are the top teams. Grahamburglar Rahal, who made a bid for the underdogs by running fifth for a very long time, flew off the track a couple of times; first by dirt-tracking off the exit of Turn 1 and doing a magnifico job of hanging on, then by just spinning himself out of contention later on. Second, at Dale Coyne racing -- who appear to be getting real chippy after realizing that they can, in fact, win a race -- the fuel people made their calculations just a bit wrong and J-Will ran out of fuel on his way into the pits, putting him way back in 15th by the time the car was fueled and re-fired.

The big boys ended up taking the top three in a mostly-flawless race.

On one final note, while fourth place wasn't given too much attention by the broadcasters, history will show that Ryan Hunter-Reay finished in that spot on a track that he has been good friends with in the past. More importantly, it was revealed that his boss, A.J. Foyt (IndyCar's real winningest driver), put Death over his knee and gave It a good spanking once again: A.J. was on his way from Texas to Ohio when an engine flamed out on his plane. The VERSUS guys, not-quite-Kings of Comedy (Dukes or Earls, maybe) said that A.J. probably calmed everyone down and flew the plane out of trouble himself -- and that it was good he didn't drive it into a lake as he did his bulldozer. A.J. "The Cat" Foyt, man of nine lives, has to be running out of free passes by this point, but it's good to have him stick around; the world needs A.J.

If you were excited by the parade that was Mid-Ohio, then boy-oh-boy do I have a treat for you: Sonoma in two weeks! Sonoma is a good race to attend in person because you're surrounded by fantastic vinyards and you can sauce yourself into happiness on a picnic blanket while the cars single-file by you. If you're not lucky enough to be in the tectonically-convulsed beauty of northern California, then you'll need to fire up the coffee pot for sure.

RESULTS: HONDA INDY 200 from IndyCar.com

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Wild Speculation: A Follow-Up

A few interesting things have happened this week leading into tomorrow's Mid-Ohio race that I thought I'd report on.

-First off: Bobby D, formerly of Newman/Haas/Lanigan, is now in a second car for his old team, HVM (which was Minardi USA in Champ Car's final year). He'll be bringing much-needed experience to a rather young team; their driver so far has been E.J. Viso, who is only in his second season of top-flight motorsports.

-Mario Moraes is having the weekend off to mourn the death of his father. The entire IndyCar family mourns with Mario, but the show must go on; Paul Tracy will pilot the #5 car at Mid-Ohio, a track where Tracy certainly knows the rounds.

-I should have reported this after hearing a phone interview on 1070 The Fan with Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud; the two of them acted so coy about suggestions that Gil would go to IndyCar (possibly dragging Simon with him) that it was ridiculous. Yesterday, in one of IndyCar's worst-kept secrets, Gil announced that he is retiring as a sports car driver to start a two-car IndyCar team. There have been no driver confirmations, but the logical picks at this point would be Takuma Sato (who Honda wants to put in an IndyCar) and Pagenaud.

Not much news to report on other teams at this point and, of course, Danica still has given no solid indication of her intentions. Cars are qualifying as we speak and ALMS takes to the course at 3. No live blog this weekend, as I've started my new work filming football practice for the Indiana Hoosiers -- I'll be at work from 2-8 tomorrow so it'll have to just be a review. Ciao.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Wild, Baseless Speculation Based Slightly in Facts

Okay, so we've had mild sprinklings of silly season throughout the year, starting from week one in St. Petersburg. However, as everyone mildly associated with auto racing will tell you, August is a magical month for silliness; the new schedule comes out, sponsors start giving the teams their "hmmm, I don't know..." speeches, and budgets are being put together for cars, crews, and supplies for the next season.

We already know a few things:

-Bobby D is Bobby Gone from Newman/Haas/Lanigan. No matter what anyone in the world of PR might tell you, this one had to be due to the fact that Bobby and Graham Rahal were pretty close to stabbing each other on more than one occasion. N/H/L is far more heavily invested in Graham than it is in the ride-buying Bobby D, and Graham has been much more marketable for them and sponsor McDonalds than Bobby could ever hope to be.

-Alex Tagliani has apparently killed any chance of having a ride with Conquest for the rest of his career, and I'm not sure anyone else will want him at this point. Nelson Phillipe is apparently in the car for all remaining races but the Japanese round, where Kosuke Matsuura will be the pilot.

We've already speculated on a few unconfirmed things:

-De Ferran Motorsports, under the direction of 2003 Indianapolis 500 champ Gil de Ferran, is supposedly looking to make the jump from a struggling ALMS to IndyCar. It doesn't seem like Gil, who is one of the drivers for that team, would want to pilot an IndyCar again. Simon Pagenaud, his second driver, would likely be in a car. The other is rumored to be Takuma Sato, formerly of Honda F1 and Super Aguri F1, will be the other driver, which could have an interesting domino effect on the rest of the league...

-It's also thought that Patron-Highcroft or Fernandez motorsports might make the jump as well. Highcroft employs Scott Sharp, who has obviously been around the block several times in the IRL, so that would be a sensible move. Fernandez is owned by a former open-wheeler (Adrian Fernandez), so he knows his way around the business. More to come on these guys, for sure.

-The big story, of course, is the drama surrounding Mrs. Hospenthal. I'm not going to go all-out on this, since it's well-publicized by just about everyone. The consensus right now is that she'll be in a third Ganassi car with maybe some part-time sports car and part-time Busch Grand Nationwideinal Series.

-The team that gets slaughtered this off-season will be Andretti-Green Racing. I think they have no shot at getting Danica, especially with the abrasive personality of Marco Andretti being on the team. If Takuma Sato goes to De Ferran Motorsports, then it's likely that the main sponsorship on Hideki Mutoh's car will move to that one. There is a distinct possibility that the team could go from four cars to two in one fell swoop.

So, I'm going to give way to some great, wild speculation that will probably never take place because, in my head, it makes sense.

-Ana Beatriz needs...NEEDS an IndyCar ride. She at least needs a test. Now, it's very well-known that Sam Schmidt Motorsports doesn't seem to want to field a full-time Indy program. Besides which, his Indy Lights team is one of the best and I think he's having more fun where he is. What I see happening is that Sam Schmidt and Andretti-Green get together to put Ana in a car as a sort of replacement for Danica. I think Ana is equally as marketable (though she won't do as well in our superficial society...in other words, no GoDaddy ads), and I'm sure that, if she doesn't already, she would get along quite well with Tony Kanaan. If AGR wants to hold onto at least one of their cars and make some sort of splash after losing Danica, Bia might be a good way to go.

-Mario Romancini, also of Indy Lights, needs to get a good look from an IRL team as well. He killed it in the Freedom 100, coming from the back to finish third in the fairly wild finish they had there. He also led wire-to-wire at the Milwaukee round of the Lights season, which is no small feat for someone who's never driven that track. I have no idea where Mario would end up, except that it needs to be an IndyCar.

-Paul Tracy NEEDS to be in a car....FULL...TIME. I have a good feeling that he might end up with KV Racing next season. Mario Moraes has been something of a wild card this season, with very good drives ending in some sort of unnecessary destruction. I'm not sure of the particulars of his Tequila Azul sponsorship, but I'm not so sure it covers the cost of the various destroyed Dallaras in their shop. Vasser and Tracy, in spite of their spat after PT divebombed Mario at Edmonton, get along very well and are very similar personality-wise. If some Canadian company would be kind enough to jump on full-time, Tracy could be in the #5 next season.

Finally, not wild speculation, but pretty disappointing to some ChampCar fans:

-Sebastien Bourdais will not be driving an IndyCar any time soon for one very good reason: his wife doesn't want to leave France. As everyone should know, if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Besides which, Seb's got a pretty good thing going with Peugeot and their killer diesel sports cars, and there will be plenty of money and glory for him when (not if) he finally takes victory at Le Mans.

As with my race predictions, all of this will certainly end up being completely inaccurate. I'll try and keep the internet updated on what I know, but I'm guessing I won't even be able to keep myself up to date on this stuff. More to come...

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Pseudo-Live Blog: FIL Kentucky 100/Meijer Indy 300


Before I start my incessant blog action tonight, allow me to write a preview for this one. Unfortunately, the track has apparently been wronged by a former girlfriend or something, because it has been weeping like a small child since heavy rains on Thursday. The weepers took a day and a half to clean up, and we've had on-track activity, but we don't know exactly what the weather is going to do tonight. Check with Will at Is It May Yet? for your latest weather needs.

The other major news going into the night is the mix of aerodynamic tweaks and a new "push-to-pass"-esque system to the cars. The aero bits are supposed to add about 300 pounds of downforce to the cars, which will give them more grip to run the high line. "The Button" will give the drivers extra horsepower depending on what fuel setting they are running: ~5 horsepower from full rich, ~20 horsepower from full lean. The Button should give a mile-per-hour or two for 12 second to the car implementing the system. Each driver gets 20 uses of the system for the whole race.

My predictions:

Winner: Scott Dixon. Do I really need to explain this one?

Dark Horse: Dan Wheldon. He has the fourth-fastest time in practice, but he'll have a tough road from the middle of the field to catch up with the top five (Penske and Ganassi). Danny should be fast, though; if the cards are played right, watch for him.

Ninja Dark Horse: Sarah Fisher. Okay, this might be the longest of long shots, but I'm going to give Sarah a bit of a chance here. This has always been one of her better tracks, with laps led and two pole positions here. I'd dearly like to see her do well, and I think many others would as well.

Lights race is getting ready to kick off, so I'm gonna fire up the live feed...

Firestone Indy Lights!
We're circling the track under yellow, getting ready to go. One of the AFS cars was having trouble getting off the grid...tough break there.

6:05, pre-race
The vid feed died off...ahh, now its back. It has been disgustingly inconsistent this weekend with the vid.

Lap ???
Okay, apparently I missed the start of the race and two cars have already been eliminated. Oi, good start for me...

Alright, I'm gonna go meeshbeer style with this one...no lap numbers, since my compy won't run T&S and the live stream at the same time.

WOAH! Giant push for Romancini or something...near contact with Cunningham. He ended up getting split down the backstretch by Bia and Harrington.

Bia makin' noise on the outside! GOOOO BIA!

Hinchcliffe and Saavedra makin' it happen side-by-side at the front.

Three wide for the lead!!! Bia, Hinch, and Saavedra! This is fantastic.

Bia to the lead! She saw an opening, dove to the inside, and divebombed Hinch and Saavedra into Turn 3. As pressdog would say, she put the wings in the delta and went...SSSSSSSUPERSONIC!

...Just like that, she lost both of those spots; Hinch to first, Saavedra to second.

Davison and Cunningham joining the battle for third with Bia. Hinch and Saavedra still running the front.

Bia made an optimistic look to the outside when Hinch and Saavedra went side-by-side. Cunningham jumped on it and grabbed third.

Near-contact between Saavedra and Cunningham. Wade took his momentum and jumped into second. Saavedra tried to get him back and nearly hit the marbles.

Wade gets the lead! He really jumped the outside line nicely on Hinch.

Hinch got totally held up by a lapped car. Wade has some good space between him and second-place now. Bia made a nice outside pass on Davison for fourth.

Okay, I became enthralled in the race for a while...AND THEN THEY THREW A STUPID F*CKING YELLOW. Hinch spun out of third, hit NOTHING, and kept going. With a race as exciting as that, if no one hits the wall or stalls, DON'T THROW THE YELLOW. Yet another race ruined by race control.

Up until the dumb f*cking Yellow from Hell, that was the best race, Lights or IndyCars, that I've seen all year. Side-by-side, three-wide, drafting, craziness...all sorts of good stuff. If the IndyCar race is even half as good as this one was, I think there will be some happy people leaving Kentucky Speedway. Back in a couple hours or so for some IndyCar speediness.

IndyCar time!
8:02, pre-race
Wham, bam, thank ya ma'am! Crowd filing in, weather filing...across the sky? Jenkins says we're in hurry-up mode 'cause the weather is (Jack Arute voice) ON THE WAY!

8:04, pre-race
Scott Dixon, most uninteresting man in the world, talks up how important it is for the team to work together to get the best results and...z..z..z..

8:06, pre-race
Briscoe says pretty much all of the same crap that Dixon just said. Seriously, I would love it if they interviewed the guys in the back who are all WILDLY INTERESTING! Let's ask Mario Moraes his opinion of E.J. Viso, and vice-versa! Let's parade some Ontarians out to slap Helio in the face! Let's have Danica re-enact a godaddy commercial!

8:09, pre-race
Robbie and Jon going over the various changes on the cars. Some seriously enhanced viewing here as Robbie nails down the aero while Jon goes over the "Overtake Button"

8:15, pre-race
Will Power, well-dressed man, talks with Lindy about the various options being put on his car for tonight (the aero pieces are optional). He says he needs all the downforce he can get 'cause of his low starting spot. Nice recap of his race last week with audio from his crew folk.

8:18, pre-race
Couple of real legends on camera just now: Sir Jackie Stewart and Roger Penske. They weren't talking to each other, but they're in the same shot, which means they're somehow...something...somewhere?

8:20, pre-race
PR smoke-up-your-ass time! Terry Angstadt, one of the smarter employees of the League, speaking up the double-speak and making the good happen, at least in theory. The man works miracles with the sometimes-awful product he has to sell.

8:26, pre-race
IndyCar Transformers! Bet there's a GREAT market for those in toy stores....and by "great" I mean non-existant.

8:27, pre-race
"Drivers, Start Your Engines!" Every row hot...except row 4. no look at the cars who may not have started, but everyone looks to have moved out. Rarin' and ready to go!

8:30, pre-race
Kevin Lee: Pit Strategist. Keepin' it real for the tan man Arute.

Lap 1
Nous somme....VERT VERT VERT! Jump start...AGAIN and nous somme...JAUNE JAUNE JAUNE!

Lap 2
Second start...slightly better. Green flies this time and Dixon rolls off to the lead. Dario stalking him around 3&4. Close stuff between Helio and Danica across the line!

Lap 4
Moraes is movin' through the field nicely. sure to run someone over soon, though...

Lap 6
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...the field has spread out and is single-file. *sigh*

Lap 10
The red cars have shot away and Robbie tells us that...they haven't used their Buttons yet. Oi. Close racing for 9th between Kanaan and Wilson.

Lap ???
I was told this was going to be a side-by-side break. Goddamn TV screwing it all up for their customers AGAIN.

Lap 18
Televised pass for third! Just as we came off the break, too. Dixon still running miles away. Mario Moraes absolutely KILLS Dario on the front stretch.

Lap 22
Danica going the wrong way fast. Carpenter and Kanaan both past her easily.

Lap 25
Briscoe blaring the "Jaws" music for Dixon. Pass for the lead perhaps forthcoming...maybe.

Lap 28
Marco and Danica making some side-by-side happen....until Marco washes up a bit and has to back off. There are definitely some differences in the racing with the aero tweaks.

Lap 33
Ed Carpenter and Mario Moraes have been doing some racing...FOR FOURTH?! Good on ya, both of you!

Lap 38
Scheckter to the pits. A disconnection of the rear anti-roll bar...that's a GIANT fix. There must really be something wrong there.

Lap 42
Good, fantastic airtime for the BRIGHT YELLOW car of Eddie Carpenter.

Okay, it's dinner time here (really late, I know). I'm gonna watch from the table and come back for the ending. Ciao!

Lap 132
Okay, so interesting things happened....namely ED CARPENTER IS IN SECOND?! Holy nuts, he had a massively good restart. He's chasing Will Power in a massive orgy of yellow side-by-side racing.

Lap 138
It appears that...an IndyCar race has broken out! And Vision Racing is battling for the lead! Oh my god, this is AWESOME!

Lap 142
Well, it looks like we've fallen into lock-step....SIDE BY SIDE AWESOME LOCKSTEP! Carpenter is doing a great job hanging with the Penske machine. Danica hangin' around the top five battle too. This is fantastic!

Lap 151
50 to go! James at 16th and Georgetown reports rain on the way. Ed lost some momentum and is back in the clutches of Castroneves...and Bob Jenkins just used the same analogy as me...DAMNIT!

Lap 154
Leaders have spread back out a bit. Will Power's boys are in the pits! ED......TO THE LEEEEAAAAD!

Lap 158
The Brazilian flag is being waved furiously behind Ed...except Kanaan just lost a bunch of ground...and Helio's dropped a bit too.

Lap 162
Replay shows Will Power nearly rolling into Sarah Fisher's pit box...OOPS! It's fantastic listening to the booth guys wax poetic about how great the racing is tonight.

Lap 168
Rahal lost the nose of his car a bit...nearly killed Briscoe and several others in the process. The racing...is GREAT tonight.

Lap 171
Vision pit stops forthcoming...and Ed is REALLY moving away from the dueling Penskes. Can you imagine that a Vision pit stop could decide the outcome of this race? How ludicrous is that?!

Lap 175
Carpenter and Dixon...TO THE PITS! The big stop of the night....a GREAT stop for the vision crew. Kanaan coming in too.

Lap 177
Kanaan in and out. Carpenter back out and going strong...Penskes still to stop and they're on the way in NOW! Tense time about to happen...this is AWESOME!

Lap 180
Carpenter out in first! Kanaan second! You know what teams neither of those guys belong to? EXACTLY

Lap 183
Carpenter still up. Something to point out: there is NO FUEL STRATEGY involved in the end of this race. No fuel mapping, no nothing. Wings back, SUPERSONIC!!! (thanks, pressdog)

Lap 186
Kanaan really pressing! Carpenter holds on and Briscoe tries on Tony...AND FAILS!

Lap 191
10 to go! Kanaan has a lot of "the Button" left, Briscoe and Ed have 7 presses. Massive fights for all top spots

Lap 193
Carpenter and Briscoe....RACING! This is sheer insanity....I can't believe this at all right now.

Lap 196
Helio nearly loses everything. It's just Carpenter and Briscoe....AMAAAZING!

Lap 200
White flag! OMG OMG OMG OMG! MIKE KING ALL CAPS VOICE!!!

Checkered Flag!
SIDE BY SIIIIIIDE! Briscoe gets the run off of Turn 4 and holds on for the win! Holy smokes that was fantastic!

History will show that Penske won yet another race. But it was truly so much different from that. .0162 seconds the official margin of victory, Ryan Briscoe over...ED CARPENTER! Unbelievable stuff from a Vision team that has gone through enough crap during their existence to completely deserve this result. Tony George, in his new role as JUST a team owner deserved this as well. Good feeling all around for the Vision guys.

Result: Briscoe, Carpenter, Kanaan, Castroneves, Rahal (!), Franchitti, Dixon, Patrick, Power, Andretti, Wheldon, Fisher, Mutoh, Huter-Reay, Viso, Matos, Conway, Moraes, Doornbos, Duno, Wilson, Scheckter, Lazier.

Interviews all around. Briscoe happy to have those points in a tight championship race. Ed, obviously still pumping the adrenaline, very happy to have a great result and be able to battle it up with a Penske car. Ed also very happy with the improvements made to the cars, as it has obviously paid off.

As the adrenaline in Ed's system chills out, as will mine. My predictions were awful as ever. Dixon was up for a while, but fell back. Wheldon finished out of the top ten. Fisher was right behind him.

Fantastic race, to be sure. Unfortunately for some fans, we go to a road course next, but the good feelings from this week will certainly remain. Mid-Ohio is next a week from tomorrow. I'll be watching, and I'm sure you will too. Ciao!